On the Edge of Courage
by Life.In.Pixels
Summary: When Syaoran Li meets Sakura Kinomoto, Syaoran believes she is perfect for him. She's all the wild, fun, and good times he ever wants from life. But when certain events take place, it changes Sakura's life forever. The wealthy and handsome Syaoran no longer intrigues her. When both money and good looks fail, does Syaoran really have anything else to offer Sakura?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Hello everyone. Thank you for browsing in. I have received a lot of request to write another CCS plot and here it is after months in the planning stages. This story will be pretty different from the genres that I usually tend to write in but I'm definitely excited about it. If you enjoy the story, don't forget to support me and leave a review.

More About the Story: The story will focus on Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li. It will start with this prologue, and I will work backwards, from their early childhood to their present lives and adulthood. In their childhood I will introduce these characters and how events in life can change the way two people view everything. However, the majority of the story will focus on their adult years. In the past, I had the bad habit of focusing on Sakura only, but for this story, I will concentrate on both equally. There will not be one-sided stories, so you'll receive an equal dosage of Syaoran and Sakura.

More About the Characters: I don't like giving away the entire story or "spoilers to come" but I realize my character-limited summary may suck so here are some tiny supplement details:

Sakura grows up in an average childhood riddled with more obstacles than most children. She's open-minded, rebellious, and all the things you might expect from an average girl, plus more.

Syaoran grows up, raised by a rich and powerful family. He has had the easy life. Like Sakura, he turns out like any other average boy. He likes to party, defies authority, and finds happiness through his wealth.

When they meet, Syaoran believes she is perfect for him. She's all the wild, fun, and good times he ever wants from life. But when certain events take place, they change Sakura's life forever. The wealthy and handsome boy no longer intrigues her, and Syaoran is no longer someone she desires.

This is a story about how life gives painful experiences, how we can change in an instant, and how one person can come to truly love another no matter who we were, are, and will become.

Rating: Rated M on the safe side. There will be violence, romance, and bad words. Please note that this will not be a completely smutty story. It will have plot, character growth and development, and story. It is not meant to be a short story.

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. All original characters were created for the intended use of this story and all resemblance to real life people and/or real events are simply coincidental.

* * *

**Prologue**

"Get to the Chopper, Sierra!" The young man shouted above the roar of the weapons fire. His face and clothes were streaked with blood. "Now! Sierra! Now! Move! Move!"

Sakura shook off his touch violently, refusing to leave. She couldn't take her hands off her major's gushing chest.

He was bleeding out, badly.

She needed to apply pressure. _More_ pressure. Too much blood… too much blood…

Their eight-person squad had been ambushed by the enemy five minutes ago in the dense jungle forest.

Only five minutes… But it had seemed like a lifetime.

And so many had died…

The noise was almost unbearable as another ear-shattering _boom_ sounded from her right. It was close enough to spray dust and tattered earth bits onto her muddy face.

Her helmet was askew. She had long lost her gun.

_First lesson, never lose your weapon_.

"Sierra!" the same man shouted again, shaking her out of her stunned reverie. His tone had taken on a hint of desperation that he tried his best to hide. He looked away, unable to keep the growing panic off his face. Another loud explosion made him crouch down. He glanced at Sakura and shook his head. "Fuck it!" he cussed and took off running towards the helicopter himself.

He was already halfway across the mine torn field towards the helicopter when he turned back to look at her again. She could see the doubt and fear on his face. She saw the moment of decision scrawled onto his pale sweaty features.

He could go back and haul her ass to safety or leave the stupid rookie to die in this war torn country.

"Sierra-!" His next words were drowned out, cut off by the dull sound of machine gun fire. He ducked for cover.

Sakura could no longer see him. Had a bullet caught him? She did not know. She didn't know anything anymore.

_Second lesson, get a hold of your surroundings._

He was their squad's captain. Code name: Oscar. Real name: Malo. Age: 25.

Back at headquarters, Malo had been full of himself. Sakura had seen it on his face the first time she had joined the army and been introduced into his squad. His men secretly called him Gravy behind his back.

Now as she stared at the empty space where he used to be, she wondered vaguely if he knew they called him Gravy…

Her attention was immediately snapped back to the present situation as the man underneath her hand started to gurgle and thrash, blood starting to clog up his airway.

"Alright, Major," Sakura muttered, focusing her attention back on her injured superior. Her hands were trembling and her heart was pounding louder than the bullets going off left and right around her. Her hand was sticky with his blood. But she tried to keep her voice steady as she shouted above the noise to be heard, "Hang in there, sir!"

Sakura took a hand off his bleeding chest, shrugging off her pack quickly. Reaching in, she shakily pulled out a pack of bandages which she tore open with her teeth.

"…eav…"

He was trying to say something but Sakura shook her head and continued to work away. No time to listen. No time to think.

_Third lesson, listen, think, and act._

Around her, gunfire and explosions continued to go off at intervals. She was well aware that at any second the enemy could swarm over the ridge of dirt and kill her.

But she couldn't leave the Major like this. She felt tears sting her eyes and she blinked them away furiously. He had been a month away from retirement. Shit! This wasn't happening! Not to a good man. Not to the old Major.

Since she enlisted half a year ago, he was the only one that had treated her with some level of respect compared to the others. Gravy always pushed her around and Sakura had no doubt he just wanted to get into her pants. But not Major Trent.

She looked at his old face, watching helplessly as his blood continued to flow, soaking the bandages in a matter of seconds.

Her hands clenched in frustration and she felt like crying again.

No.

_No crying._

She had been trained especially for situations like this! She wouldn't break apart now. Not like Gravy had. Saving his sorry ass like that.

A man skidded across the dirt and dropped down onto the ground. For half a second she thought the enemy had finally overtaken them. But as he crawled the rest of the way to her, she recognized his dust-covered uniform as one of their own.

"How does he look?" Foxtrot asked, pushing his helmet up so he could see.

"N-Not good…" Sakura answered. "We need to get him to the chopper."

Foxtrot looked back towards their awaiting chopper and back down at their Major. Then he looked silently at Sakura.

The message was clear: They wouldn't make the distance, not if they had to carry the Major.

Sakura grew pale and she felt herself tremble as she understood what Foxtrot was saying wordlessly.

"There's only Romeo and Lima left," Foxtrot told her as he eyed the field cautiously. Whoever was attacking them was hiding in the cover of the trees. They would have all been dead if it weren't for the uneven terrain. The uneven terrain had given them some degree of cover. "Where's Gravy?"

Sakura pulled out another package of bandages from her pack. "H-He made a r-run for it."

"Fuc-" the rest of Foxtrot's curse was drowned out by another loud explosion. There were other people shouting now and Sakura could just make out the sound of a foreign language.

Then they saw Lima running towards them, dropping and rolling to duck behind the little coverage they had, landing beside Sakura.

His eyes were wide with fear when he reported to them, "Romeo's gone."

Foxtrot looked away, his fists clenched.

The squad of eight had been a close group. They had already lost three.

"We need to get to that chopper," Foxtrot said when he turned back to look at them. The shooting had stopped as the enemy realized no one was firing back anymore.

"Who'll fly the bird?" Lima asked. Romeo, their pilot, was dead.

Sakura noticed that both men carefully avoided talking about the Major.

"W-What about the Major?" she whispered.

Both Foxtrot and Lima looked unhappy but they said nothing.

Starting to feel her anger rise, Sakura said, "We should leave the chopper. It's too risky now. We head for the trees over there. It'll give us a fighting chance."

"Listen to yourself, Rook," Lima whispered with half a sneer. "Strategizing for us already when you're still green."

"They might have missiles!" Sakura protested. "If we get in that chopper-"

"Shhhhh!" Foxtrot hissed. His eyes were trained on the outstretched land in front of them. There was movement in the trees.

Their enemy was growing bolder. They were coming out of hiding. There were about fifteen or so of them.

"Fuck!" Foxtrot swore softly, his eyes gleaming with fear. "We gotta go! Now!"

"We can't-"

"Shut up, Sierra!" Lima snapped, hoisting his gun up and pointing it at their incoming targets, but not shooting.

Sakura was about to give Lima a piece of her mind when she felt the Major stir underneath her. His hand shot up and grabbed her arm.

"… eave… Leave…!" he spluttered, a thin trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. "…leave…"

Sakura's eyes widened as Foxtrot turned to her and said, "Let's go, Sierra. Trent's gone!"

But he wasn't. He was still alive. She could feel the beating of his heart underneath her fingertips.

There was a shout from their enemy and they heard the sound of the chopper blades firing up.

"Shit!" Foxtrot muttered. "Gravy, you son of a-"

Gravy was sitting in the pilot seat, pushing at controls and placing his hands on the navigation. He was going to take off without them!

"That bitch –" Lima shouted angrily as the gun fire from their enemy picked up again.

Without a second glance back at them, Foxtrot took off, running madly for the helicopter.

Lima wasn't far behind, shouting and cussing as he ran for his life.

Sakura stayed put, like a deer caught in the moment of bright headlights.

Every fibre in her being was saying she couldn't leave the Major to die alone. And yet every single cell in her screamed to survive.

And she could see the advancing enemy. She could see their faces now.

They did not look so evil after all, she thought as she stared frozen in place. They looked like any other man you might meet on the streets of New York City.

"S… Sierra… go…" the Major coughed.

"I won't leave you, sir," Sakura said firmly, tearing her eyes away from the advancing men.

The Major tried to grin but it turned into a grimace.

"R..Run for those trees… l-like you said…" He winced in pain as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a folded picture.

"D-Don't move, sir, p-please…" Sakura cried out as she kept an eye on the bandage across his chest. But it was no use. Her newly applied bandage was already soaked in blood again.

The Major smiled. "I'm a… goner, Sierra. I know it v…very well…" he coughed and when the fit of coughing subsided, he said so softly that Sakura had to strain to hear it, "Please… take this to my wife and s-son… Tell them I l… love… love them so m-mu…"

Tears clouded his old eyes and he closed them, feeling tired. He swallowed and said, "M-My weapon… Take it!" He reached for his sidearm and stuffed it into Sakura's hands. "Go for… the trees."

"But… but you…"

He opened his eyes and stared hard at Sakura. With his last ounce of strength, he barked, "You've been trained for this, Rookie! Don't you… dare disappoint me now!"

There came a yelp of pain and Sakura heard Foxtrot shouting obscenities as he fell. A bullet had caught him in the leg.

She watched as Lima continued on running past Foxtrot for Gravy and the helicopter, not even sparing his fallen comrade a second look.

Major Trent must have known what was happening just by listening to the sounds. He gave Sakura's cold hands a hard squeeze. "You _live_ for the two of us! You hear me, Sierra? You _live_! Now…" He gave her a strong push in the direction of the trees, grunting from pain. "_Go_!"

Sakura hesitated once more, one hand clutching the Major's picture of his wife and son and the other his weapon.

"That's an order, Sierra!" the Major roared. "Go!"

Tears burning her eyes and blinding her sight, Sakura took off running for the trees. She did not dare to stop. Or to brush away her tears.

_Lesson four, no man left behind._

Sakura ran and ran.

She heard a shout go up as the enemy spotted her making way for the trees.

She ran hard and as fast as she could, legs pumping furiously to gain ground.

Bullets crocheted past her and whizzed on, some missing her by a few inches.

Just a little more…

She was almost in the clear. Just a few more steps and she would be safe within the cover of the tall dense trees.

A spray of more bullets were fired towards her and then she broke through the foliage and into the dark forest, catching a glimpse as a few bullets caught the trunks of the old trees in front of her.

A searing hot pain broke on her shoulder but she didn't dare to stop and look at it.

She kept on running and running.

The trees started to grow closer and closer together the further and deeper she ran. She tripped over numerous jutting rocks and gnarled roots but she picked herself up every time and continued to push on.

She didn't know how long she had run for or how far.

But the dull pounding pain in her shoulder eventually stopped her.

She fell down onto the forest floor, panting and struggling to catch her breath.

She found that she was crying. Not daring to make a sound, she dragged her exhausted body behind a tree trunk and tried to get her breathing back into control.

Was anyone following her?

Silence greeted her.

No one was after her.

Not yet anyway.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on the trunk, sobbing quietly.

How had everything spiralled out of control so quickly? They were only supposed to be on patrol duty, surveying the area and mapping it for the later troops.

None of the enemy was supposed to be here.

This was supposed to be a safe zone.

Then they had been ambushed.

None of them had seen any real combat or had any experience, except for Gravy and the Major.

But the Major had been shot first and in the chest. After that, it had all just gone to hell.

They had all looked to Gravy for guidance as he was the second-in-command behind Trent, but Gravy had lost it.

He had cowered behind the ridge, fumbling for the radio and stuttering out ill formed sentences.

It was then that Foxtrot had taken charge and taken the rest of the men to fight back. He had left Sakura behind to see to the Major.

Sakura trembled as she remembered just how much blood had come out of the old man. How had that even been possible…?

Then she wondered if Lima and Gravy had survived. Maybe even Foxtrot?

She knew Major Trent was dead by now and this brought on a new wave of tears.

_No, this wouldn't do._

She rubbed her eyes quickly with only her right arm. Her left arm was throbbing in so much pain now.

If she was going to survive, she would first need to stop feeling sorry for herself.

Slowly, Sakura turned her head and examined her wounded shoulder. Even that small movement caused a searing pain to shoot through her shoulder blade and through her neck muscles.

A large dark patch of brown had stained her uniform all the way down to her sleeve. Wincing and grunting in pain, Sakura slowly slipped the zipper down and shrugged out of her uniform gently.

She glanced again at her shoulder and saw that her worst fear had come true.

She had been shot.

A stray bullet must have caught her arm just as she entered the forest.

Clenching her fist, she stretched her arm and felt at the back.

Gritting her teeth as her fingers probed across her inflamed skin, she felt the wound at the back.

Okay, so the bullet had gone through and through.

That was good news.

She just needed to stop the bleeding for now.

Moving as little as possible, Sakura reached into her pack and took out the last pack of her bandages.

Within a few minutes and through much pain and agony, Sakura was finally done wrapping her wound.

Her forehead was beaded with sweat and her fingers and nails were stained with blood. Her own and the Major's.

Sweat, blood, and dirt stained her uniform and she grimaced in pain and had to bite her lip as another spasm of pain racketeered through her shoulder blades. Once the flash of pain had subsided reasonably, Sakura could taste blood in her mouth which she spat out onto the dense jungle ground.

She reached shakily into her pocket and took out the Major's picture of his wife and his son where she had hastily shoved it in her escape.

She looked at it for a while, remembering all the times the Major had talked about his retirement and his awaiting family. He did not deserve that kind of death.

Sakura took a shaky breath and leaned her head back on the tree trunk. Her eyelids fluttered down and she allowed herself a few seconds of rest.

Just a few seconds, and she would be on her way again…

Despite her resolve, her exhausted body quietly drifted off to sleep. Sakura fell into a pit of unconscious.

_Lesson five… _Never_ rest in enemy territory…_

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Author's Note: A short prologue laying the foundations of what's to come. Please review and let me know what you think so I can gauge interest & improve. Thanks everyone!


	2. Beheading the Bear

Author's Note: I originally wrote this chapter out on wordpad so there might be some strange formatting going on that I haven't caught. Yet.

In other news! Thank you for sticking with me thus far and showing your interest. I hope to keep you for quite a while to come. Without further delay, we start the story off on childhood themes.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters. All resemblance to real life people and/or events originate purely from the author's strange imagination and are entirely coincidental.

**Chapter One**

**Beheading the Bear**

_Twelve Years Ago..._

The thunderstorm that had roared into the state was in full swing. It bellowed like a caged animal, whipping fragile branches hither and thither, soaking everything to its core. The empty streets were running with the downpour of nature's rain, the run-off gurgling into the gutters and sewage, escaping away only to be immediately replaced from the dark sky.

Somewhere, a particularly fierce gust of wind had blown an old tree sideways. Its gnarly branches smashed into an electrical pole, and for a moment it seemed like a man fighting desperately for balance. It twisted, buffeted by the strong wind, and further tangled its branches hopelessly into the thick black wires of the man-made wire structure. Sparks flew and hissed, momentarily lighting up the dark night like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

For a breathtaking moment, it seemed as if the entire tree would light up to catch on fire, but the insistent and dreary rain would have none of that. It poured, refusing to let the flame get a foothold in this small part of the world. The flame fought valiantly, licking for fuel, but ultimately lost. Doused and harmless. The rain continued to fall obliviously as it moved on, leaving in its path a mangled electrical pole and a dying tree.

The rain travelled where the wind told it to, and came to splatter across the large rooftop of an old orphanage, seeming to drill holes into the very fabric of the building. But the old and gray concrete buildling had stood for a century and a little rain wasn't going to cripple it.

_Drip drip drip._

_Patter. Patter._

In the ancient building, in one of the many rooms, a young girl was huddled into a corner. She clutched a bedraggled teddy bear close to her. It was missing one eye but she didn't seem to mind. The room was pitch black but her eyes were wide open, her knuckles white as she held onto her bear.

_Drip drip drip._

_Patter Plat_ _Plat._

Far away, thunder rolled across the weeping sky. She held her breath, barely daring to breathe. The large, spacious room smelt like mold, dampness, and age.

_Drip drip drip._

_Patter Plat _BOOM_ Platter._

As the minutes ticked on slowly, the thunder roared closer until it was lighting the black and grey sky white. It cracked loudly, startling the little girl. She whimpered softly and hugged her bear closer to herself.

Then she heard it.

The footsteps.

_Boom. Crack_ went the thunder.

The echoing sound of the footsteps approached the room she was hiding in. The person made no hurry and yet that only frightened the little girl even more. The steps were light, confident, and steady.

_Tap, tap, tap_.

It stopped.

Just outside the door.

She squeezed her eyes shut as if that would help.

_Pitter patter pitter patter._

"I know you're in here," the voice of the woman said as she pushed open the creaky door. Her tone was calm but laced with fury. "You'll only make him angrier if you hide."

Despite the warning, the young girl refused to budge from the corner she was in. The room was cold. The floor was cold. She trembled but didn't dare make a sound. She would not be caught.

The woman waited, and listened. When she was certain that the girl would not come out by herself, she frowned in disapproval.

The young girl listened in horror as the woman's footsteps approached the light switch by the wall.

_Flick._

Nothing happened.

_Flick, Flick._

And still nothing.

"Oh for goodness sakes!" the woman murmured just slightly under her breath. The building was old and the thunderstorm must have short circuited the fuse, _or knocked out one of the electrical poles_. The woman was growing impatient with this childishness. She turned back to the large dark room, attempting to give the disobedient girl one last chance. "Come out this instance!" she exclaimed. "He does not like to be kept waiting!"

But still the girl refused to move or come out from hiding. She was in trouble and she knew it. It was so much easier just to huddle here and hide.

The woman stood very still in the dark, waiting expectantly, and then finally let out her breath. She shook her head and turned away, all the while muttering about evil little children, spoiled brats, and stupid little girls as she left.

The young girl held her breath, listening to the footsteps fade away. Her large green eyes were wide open and her heart was fluttering frantically in her chest.

She knew better to think that it was all over and that they would just leave her alone. If there was one thing you knew about the orphanage matron Miss Ikoji, it was that she was neither forgiving nor forgetting. Miss Ikoji would get her eventually. It was only a matter of time.

But for a second, the young girl pretended to be brave.

Suddenly, the door to the room creaked open and an involuntary gasp escaped her lips. Her heart threatened to escape.

A shadow crept into the room, slow and careful, its figure barely discernible in the darkness.

"Sakura...?" he whispered. "Are you in here?"

She recognized that voice. Hesitantly, she crawled out from her corner, her heart pounding with relief. "Y-Yes," she answered in a tiny voice. "Is Miss Ikoji...?"

"She'll be back," the boy replied grimly as he caught sight of her in the dark. "You know hiding won't help... right?"

"I… know."

The boy sighed, shaking his head. "Why did you do it then?" he asked.

"I... I..." she stammered, and hugged her teddy closer. "It... It was an _accident_."

The boy crossed his arms. He didn't believe a word coming out of the young girl's mouth. Even though Sakura was only a small child, six years old to be exact, nevertheless, she had become known as a liar and a troublemaker. Don't let those big pretty green eyes fool you.

"It's _true!_" she insisted in a whiny voice. "I didn't do it on _purpose_!"

"Geez, Sakura," the boy said, growing a little angry. "I told you not to go there, didn't I? You're old enough to-"

"I'm six!" she protested.

He ignored her, continuing on, "Make good choices. You need to be more responsible. This is real life. This is not-" He cut off once he realized the little girl wasn't even looking at him anymore. Her eyes were hazy, her concentration drifting as she fidgeted with a frayed string on her bear.

"Are you listening to me, Sakura Kinomoto?" the young boy asked sharply.

"What? Yes!"

"What was I saying then?"

Sakura's eyes widened and he could almost see her brain working. "Um..." she murmured, scuffling her worn-out shoe on the linoleum floor tiles, hanging her head guiltly.

"I thought so!"

"But... Mr. Bear was listening… and…" Sakura said.

The door creaked open yet again, and someone else entered the large cold room.

Instinctively, Sakura ducked and hid behind the older boy.

The second shadow that crept into the room was that of another boy. His light coloured hair stood out in the pitch blackness surrounding them.

"Yuki!" Sakura grinned as she recognized who it was. And most importantly, realizing that it wasn't Miss Ikoji that had come back.

Yukito smiled as the young girl ran towards him and she threw her arms around him affectionately. He patted her head and turned to the other boy. "Is Touya lecturing you again, Sakura?"

"Yes." She pouted. "He always lectures me!"

Yukito laughed as Touya crossed his arms. "You think I like this?" Touya muttered, annoyed. "I just don't want you thrown out on the streets."

Sakura made a face. Yukito smiled kindly. "You know Touya means well," he said to her gently. "You should listen to him more."

"I don't want to," Sakura complained, growing bold since Yukito was there. "He doesn't like me."

Touya scowled while Yukito laughed. "Not true, Sakura! He's like an older brother to you. I am as well. We're only looking out for you."

"But... but..." She would not give up that easily without an argument. "But he's only _eleven_! Not that much older than me!"

Touya considered stomping away in anger. Even though none of the children in the orphanage were related by blood, he had regarded Sakura as his own little sister. He had even taken care of her like he would his own family. But despite his best efforts, Sakura always managed to find some trouble or another. She was wild. Even for her age.

"Aha, eleven is it?" Yukito was saying, placating the little volcano. "I'm eleven too. Does that mean you won't listen to me either?"

"Well... no..." she answered reluctantly, thinking in a way only a child would. She risked a peek at Touya who was glowering at her.

"Then do what Touya says," Yukito urged. "Don't make Miss Ikoji angrier than she already is."

"She'll hit me," Sakura whispered, shaking her head and shrinking away from the two older boys. "She'll scream at me and- and -"

"No, she won't," Yukito reassured her. "Director Marn won't let her."

Sakura chewed her lip, stewing this over. Director Marn was the elderly man in charge of the orphanage. Troublemaker Sakura had been sent to his office more times than she could count – and she could count to at least 50 - but Director Marn had always been kind to her, telling her gently that he never wanted to see her in his office again. But each time...

Well, maybe he wouldn't mind this time either, she thought.

"Okay then," Sakura murmured hesitantly. "But you promise Director Marn won't yell at me?"

"What you deserve is a good beating," Touya interrupted, still irritated. In his eyes, Sakura was old enough to stop from getting into trouble. Even though Touya was only eleven, he was mature beyond his years. Growing up without parents forced orphaned children to lose their childhood before their time.

"But he won't, would he?" Sakura asked, bottom lip quivered just ever so slightly.

Touya glanced at Yukito, suddenly alarmed. Dealing with crying girls was never his strong suit. And he had only seen Sakura cry once. _Ever_. Touya remembered the first time she had arrived at the orphanage. She had been four years old then. Tiny.

Miss Noche, the orphanage's young apprentice, had led her in through the front door. It had been a rainy night like tonight as well. Touya and the rest of the kids had snuck out of bed to watch the newcomer, hiding just at the top of the steps. The small girl had been in dirty, filthy rags. Her long brown hair reaching to her waist had been matted and tangled, possibly hosting an ecosystem of creatures.

Miss Ikoji had tsked and tched about the mud and wet puddles the young orphan girl was trailing into the lobby hall. The police had found her living on the streets, she had been turned to child services, and finally after hours of bureaucracy had been led to Marn's Director had been there to greet her, as he always personally greeted new children, and he had welcomed Sakura warmly.

Unlike many of his stern employees, Director Marn believed in showing kindness and nurture.

_How was she? Was she hungry? Cold? A hot bath would fix that. And definitely new clothes. Would she like a lollipop? No? How about... this...?_

Director Marn had then produced a scruffy looking teddy bear from behind him and held it out to the little girl.

Sakura stared at him and his kind smile with suspicion. Then she had stared at the bear with suspicion.

"Go on," urged the Director. "It's yours."

Just as everyone in the hall had decided the girl would not take it, she reached out, quick as lightning, and snatched it from the Director's outstretched hands.

The Director's eyes widened in surprise but then he laughed goodnaturedly. The matrons were not so friendly, especially Miss Ikoji as she had ushered the dirty girl away impatiently.

As they took away the young girl, Touya had caught the look on her small face. She was weeping. So quietly that no one even noticed.

And that was the only time Touya had seen Sakura cry since then.

She hadn't shed a single tear when Miss Ikoji chopped off her long honey-brown hair that was clumped together. Jeany Vondal, who was nine at the time she got her haircut, had cried loudly for two days.

Sakura didn't cry either when Josh Dean, the orphanage bully, pushed her down a flight of five steps the first year she was here. And she hadn't sobbed either when some of the other girls made fun of her.

Maybe that was why Touya felt like he had to protect her. Because even though she acted all brave on the outside, he knew how much she must have hurt. It was just something about being abandoned…

Sakura never went anywhere without Director Marn's bear. And she never ever talked about what her life was like before she came to the orphanage.

Yukito had overheard Miss Noche gossiping in the kitchen with Miss Tamess. They said authorities had found the four-year-old on the streets, hiding behind a pile of garbage. No one knew exactly how she had survived before that. Maybe eating garbage, Miss Noche whispered in a frightful tone. Or stealing, suggested Miss Tamess.

Whatever it was, Sakura had lived despite it all and had been taken in. The only thing that Touya, Yukito, and the rest of the orphanage kids did know about Sakura was that her parents had died when she was a baby. Terrible car crash, Miss Noche said. No siblings or other family.

Sakura never spoke of her life before the orphanage either. Touya was sure the young girl would remember some parts of it no matter how young she had been, but even Yukito's best efforts to get her to share were futile. Sakura was as stubborn as they came and refused to let them help her with talk. But a scar that stretched from her lower back to her left shoulder blade spoke volumes of the terrifying fatal car accident that had claimed the lives of her parents.

And if you pressed relentlessly about her past, Sakura would punch you in the face. Of course, being four and tiny, that didn't hurt too much. But it did not amuse Miss Ikoji either, who had been the first to find out the hard way.

So now, as Touya stood there staring at Sakura in utter shock, watching her lip tremble, he felt at a loss of speech.

Yukito gave Touya a nudge to indicate he should say something comforting.

Touya felt his throat grow dry. He was not the comforting sort. He wished Yukito would just do his magic but it was clear his friend was not going to help out.

Touya cleared his throat, suddenly very self-conscious. "Okay, look here, Sakura," he started, paused, and decided to try again. "Director Marn is the nicest out of them all. He isn't going to hurt you. Look," he pointed towards her bear that was falling apart at the seams. "He gave you that bear, didn't he?"

Sakura looked down at her bear and nodded. She looked back up. "So… he won't mind if I don't go see him after all then?"

Touya reeled back. "No, what!? No, that's not what I was saying!" He growled, realizing he had just fallen for an act. Sakura was not going to cry! After all, she hadn't wept a single tear last year when Josh Dean had pinched her all over the arm until she had yellow-purple bruises.

"Let's go!" Touya commanded as he grabbed her wrist and started out the room.

Sakura yelped, struggled, and dug her heels into the floor. But she was no match against Touya, who was tall for his age, towering over her. She only reached his chest.

Touya dragged her all the way to the front of Director Marn's office. Yukito followed quietly behind.

Just as they were about to enter the office, they spotted Miss Ikoji coming down the hall from the other end. She had a candle in her hand, its warm orange flame throwing her shadow across the walls and creeping across her features.

"Sakura Kinomoto!" she screeched when she spotted the object of her pursuit. "Stop right there!"

Sakura froze. Renewed fear leapt into her. Out of all the orphanage matrons, Miss Ikoji was the strictest, the most unforgiving, non-nonsense, rule-adhering woman. Even as she was coming down the hall towards the three children, her shoes _tap tapping_ on the floor, she did not hurry.

Once she reached Sakura, she reached out and swiftly backhanded the little six-year-old girl across the face.

"Don't you ever make me look all over the place for you again, you hear me?"

"Hey-" Touya started to say, shocked. Everyone knew Miss Ikoji was harsh but this outright violence was something new. His eyes darted from Miss Ikoji's calm face to Sakura's which was starting to redden from the harsh slap. Sakura did not retort or whimper, she simply stared at her feet.

"No," Miss Ikoji said, cutting Touya's words off and swiveling to face him. She peered down at him with a frown. "Touya Avalon, go to your room this instant! And you too, Yukito Tsukishiro! And not another word from the both of you!"

She stared hard at them until the two boys shuffled away meekly.

"Now," Miss Ikoji said, turning back to Sakura and taking her roughly by the arm. "Let's go see Director Marn."

* * *

The car splashed across a deep puddle, and sped down the rickety lane. The driver peered through her windshield, its wipers working furiously to clear the glass as turrets of rain pounded down.

"Fuck!" the driver swore as she accelerated past another puddle. She reached over to the passenger seat and picked up the map. One hand on the steering wheel, and one eye on the road, she consulted the map.

"Just my fuckin' luck," she muttered under her breath. "Fucking idyllic countryside my ass!"

She threw aside the map and returned to trying to see through her windshield.

Then she saw it.

A looming black rectangle building in the distance. A streak of lightning lit up the sky and she managed to catch a glimpse of the sign on the building.

_George Marn's Institute for Children_

She veered sharply to the right, rolled through the open gates of the orphanage and drove at an unsafe speed up to the double entrance doors of the orphange building. She came to an abrupt halt, put the car into Park and undid her seat belt.

Pulling down her visor, she slid the mirror open and checked her reflection. Satisfied, she snapped the visor shut and turned around to the back seat.

A young girl in a pretty blue dress sat in her seat. Her large purple eyes were wide and slightly terrified. Her cheeks were wet, the woman noticed. She had been crying.

"Oh, wipe those tears away," she snapped, reaching into the glove box and throwing the girl a Kleenex box. "No sniffling once we go inside."

The girl took the box and dabbed at her cheeks, trying not to sniffle like the woman told her.

Giving the young girl another once-over, the woman stepped out of the car. She ran around and opened the side door, letting the young girl out.

"Come on," she shouted in the rain and thunder, grabbing the girl's hand. "Let's go."

* * *

"Director Marn?"

The Director looked up from his desk at his pregnant secretary, Akari. She smiled shyly at him. The young lady had been an orphan herself once. George Marn had watched her grow up and she was the closest thing to a granddaughter he would ever have. Now, she was married to a good man and was on her way to having her first child. Director Marn was proud of her.

"What time is it?" Director Marn asked, staring at the grandfather clock in his room. "Did I forget to take my medicine again?"

"No," his secretary answered politely. "But you should take it now. Also Miss Ikoji is here to see you."

The Director held back a sigh and tried not to roll his eyes. Miss Ikoji got on his nerves sometimes but he had to admit she was an excellent orphanage manager. She handled the expenses efficiently and the supervision of his other matrons. If only she wasn't so harsh on the children… Many of them had faced abandonment, abuse, and near-death, it wouldn't harm Miss Ikoji to soften up a bit.

"Tell them to come in," Marn said as he stood up from his desk. He went over to the water pitcher and poured himself a cup of water.

Even before he had returned to his desk, Miss Ikoji was pushing into his office. She shoved past Akari and dragged in the little girl. Akari gave an exasperated look but she said nothing, closing the office door softly behind her as she left.

"Well, Miss Ikoji," Director Marn said evenly as he gestured to the two seats in front of his desk. "Take a seat. Who do we have here?" He grinned at Sakura who was still staring at her shoes.

Miss Ikoji made no move to sit down. She let go of Sakura's hand and crossed her arms, drumming her fingers quietly, waiting.

The Director swallowed another sigh. He opened his desk drawer and took out his bottle of pills. He emptied two onto his palm, threw back his head, dumped the pills into his mouth, took a swig of water and swallowed.

All the while, Sakura had moved from staring at her feet to staring intently at the Director. He noticed.

"Are you sick?" Sakura blurted out, anxious and curious at the same time.

The Director laughed as Miss Ikoji's face grew thunderous. She believed in children should not speak unless spoken to. But Director Marn did not believe in such nonsense. He answered, "Well, Sakura, I am growing old. The medicine helps with my heart."

"Old?" Sakura scrunched her nose, thinking. "How old?"

"That's enough-" Miss Ikoji warned.

The Director held up his hand. "That's quite alright, Miss Ikoji. Children are curious little things." He turned back to Sakura and answered, "Seventy-eight."

"Seven... tee... eight?" Sakura repeated, trying to work out in her head just how much older the Director was than her.

The Director laughed again at the young girl's confused expression. He clapped his hands together and said instead, "Now, tell me why Miss Ikoji has brought you to my office. _Again_."

All calculations of age flew out Sakura's head. She stared at her shoes again, hanging her head guiltily.

"Ah," Marn said knowingly. "Caused a little trouble again, did we?"

"A _little_ trouble?" Miss Ikoji echoed in plain surprise. "This young lady has caused _a lot_ of trouble! She-"

"Let her tell me, Miss Ikoji," Director Marn said patiently. Miss Ikoji steamed but did not say another word.

Sakura scuffed her shoe on the floor, balancing on one leg. She didn't want to say. But Director Marn was looking at her with expectation. And Miss Ikoji was glaring at her with disgust and anger.

"I..." Sakura started, her voice small and squeaky. "I... I went to the playground."

The Director raised an eyebrow. The playground was a small sandy area that consisted of two swings and a slide. This hardly seemed like trouble.

Miss Ikoji resumed her finger-drumming. She was growing impatient. "Well, go on," she exclaimed. "Tell the rest truthfully!"

Sakura chewed her bottom lip, her teddy bear's leg trailing on the floor. "I told... Josh Dean... to go on the swing..."

"...And?" the Director urged gently.

"And... he fell off. And he hurt his knee."

The Director grimaced. "Did you push him off the swing, Sakura?"

"No!" Sakura said immediately, looking up. "I didn't! He says I did, but I didn't! Josh Dean is a liar! A big big big liar!"

The Director groaned softly. He pressed his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes briefly. "How bad is Josh hurt?" he asked Miss Ikoji.

"Just a scrape," Miss Ikoji reported. "But that's _not_ why Sakura is in trouble!"

"There's more?" Marn asked, almost fearfully.

"Yes!" Miss Ikoji hissed. "Sakura went to the playground without _my_ _permission_! If she had asked for my permission, I would have said no. Josh Dean would not have hurt his knee."

The Director looked at Sakura and tried his best stern look. "Now, Sakura, you know why the orphanage has rules, don't you?"

Sakura nodded her head, going back to staring at the floor. She didn't really understand but she expected that they were wanting her to nod her head.

The Director knew children better than Miss Ikoji so he explained patiently, "Rules are set to prevent people from being hurt, Sakura. Josh could have broken his ankle, but he was lucky."

"Josh is a liar," Sakura whispered in between.

"We are not talking about what Josh Dean said or didn't say!" Miss Ikoji interrupted.

"Yes, Miss Ikoji is right," the Director agreed softly. "Even if Josh is lying about what happened, it still doesn't change the fact that you broke the rule."

"I'm sorry..." Sakura admitted.

The Director smiled kindly. "Don't let it happen again, Sakura." He pushed away from his desk and stood up. "Now, I don't want to see you in my office again, alright?"

Sakura beamed. "I won't go to the playground without permission again, I promise."

The Director smiled back. "Good. Now off you go to bed."

"Now, just a minute!" Miss Ikoji cried out, alarmed. "Wait just a minute here!" She glared at Sakura, gluing her to the spot and turned quickly to the Director. "George, you can't let her go scot-free! She needs to be punished. Her insolence-"

"She's six years old," Marn answered tiredly. "She knows she made a mistake and she won't do it again."

"Won't do it again?" Miss Ikoji repeated incredulously. "She broke the lobby vase just yesterday! Last week she nearly killed Miss Noche!"

"Nearly killed?" the Director asked, skeptical. "That's an over-exaggeration now, Marea."

"She did," Miss Marea Ikoji pressed firmly. "Putting foot powder into Miss Noche's cereal! She had food poisoning for three whole days! I won't stand for this leniency you show towards these children, George-"

"What would you have me do, Marea?"

"Ten spankings," Miss Ikoji dictated. Sakura swallowed a gasp. "She'll learn once you put the fear of the whip into her. She's a wild, little girl and we have an obligation to teach her-"

"_Whip her_?" the Director exclaimed, shocked. "She's a child!"

"Nothing wrong with some physical punishment," Miss Ikoji advocated sternly. "All the other orphanages are doing it. I don't know why we don't. The children here grow bolder each day. This little girl becomes more wild each day. Breaking this, breaking that. _I shudder to think what she'll become when she grows up_! If we don't help her, who will, George!?"

Director Marn rubbed his temples again. A pounding headache was starting to stab him between the eyes. "That's quite enough, Miss Ikoji," he said sharply. He glanced at Sakura, suddenly remembering she was still in the room. "Go to bed," he told Sakura. Sakura didn't need any further encouragement. She turned and fled the Director's office as Miss Ikoji stared after her with a grim mouth.

"The way you treat these children, it's a mistake."

"I don't think so," Marn answered as he crossed the room to his filing cabinet.

Miss Ikoji opened her mouth to make her case again when there came a knock on the door. The secretary poked her head in and reminded the Director, "Your eight o'clock appointment is waiting in the lobby, Mr. Marn." She rubbed her pregnant belly unconsciously as only a mother would. "Should I tell them to wait?"

"No," the Director said. "I'm quite done here."

And then he grabbed the file folder he was looking for and stalked out the room.

* * *

Miss Noche let the two visitors into the orphanage and slammed shut the door to keep the howling wet wind out.

The woman and the little girl stepped into the lobby, slightly drenched.

"This way please," Miss Noche said, gesturing to the next room where a snug couch was waiting for them. "Can I get you some tea or coffee? Juice for the girl?"

"Coffee will be fine," the woman said as she followed after. "Nothing for the girl."

Miss Noche nodded airily. "I'll be right back. Mr. Marn will be down shortly to see you." Then she hurried away.

Minutes later, an elderly man entered the room holding a file folder in one hand. He held out his other hand and shook the woman's. "You must be Uina Daidouji. I am George Marn. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Then he turned to the young girl beside Uina and said, "And you must be Tomoyo Daidouji. Pleased to meet you. Please take a seat."

They seated themselves on the couch and Director Marn sat across on a wooden chair. Uina glanced around the small comfy room with distaste. Then she stared at the elderly man, wishing that he would just hurry up so she could leave. Maybe even make it in time for her boyfriend's party.

Marn opened the folder in front of him, reviewing it quickly. "I see that you're considering our orphanage," he said without taking his eyes off the application form sitting in his lap.

"Oh no," Uina said firmly. "Not considering. We've already decided."

"I see." Marn closed the folder and looked up. "Then I would like to take this opportunity to let you know of our facilities and-"

"That won't be necessary," Uina said quickly. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "You know... if we could just hurry this up..."

George Marn reeled back, startled. Hurry this up? He glanced at Tomoyo who was sitting like an angel quietly next to Uina. Did this woman not care about the little girl she was giving up forever?

"But..."

"No buts," Uina snapped. "It's fucking horrible weather outside and I would like to get back ASAP!"

Marn raised an eyebrow. "We don't use that kind of language around the children-"

"Fuc-" Uina seemed to think better of it and said instead, "Freakin' whatever then. Let me just sign whatever forms and get it over with."

George Marn considered giving the young woman a piece of his mind, but he sighed instead. He had been in this business for over forty years and he had seen all sorts of parenting. And Uina wasn't even Tomoyo's parent but a guardian aunt. He slipped his fountain pen out of his shirt pocket, clicked it and handed it to Uina, sliding the forms across as well.

Miss Noche entered carrying a cup of coffee. She set it down on the table and left again.

Uina took a sip, made a face, and pushed the cup away from herself.

As Uina proceeded to bulldoze through the forms, scrawling her signature on the pages, George asked gently, "And the mother? Shouldn't she be here?"

Uina paused and her lipsticked lips curled back in annoyance. "Miss Sonomi Daidouji is much too busy to handle matters like these. That's why she sent me."

Too busy? George thought horrified. He had read Tomoyo's file and he knew Sonomi Daidouji was a wealthy CEO of a multi-million dollar company. When he had first received the application form, he had been startled to think someone as rich and powerful as this woman would consider giving away her _only_ child, and to a poorly-funded orphanage such as his! Even now, he still had so many questions. He had thought Sonomi would accompany her daughter tonight. George had been completely prepared to dissuade the mother, but it seemed like she hadn't even bothered to show up.

And Uina was not even remotely interested. She set down the pen after she had inked her last signature on the very last page. "There," she said. "Are we done now?"

"Yes, I suppose," Marn said reluctantly. "Are you sure you don't want to take a look at our facilities first-? Maybe Miss Sonomi will join us later…?"

But Uina was already standing up, slinging her purse over her shoulder and leaving the room.

"Wait!" Tomoyo slid down from the couch and ran after Uina, clinging to her hand.

"Oh fucking sakes," Uina swore as she brushed Tomoyo away. "Get off of me! Damn it!" She looked towards the Director with accusatory eyes. "A little help here, would you!?"

Marn stood up and came over, feeling very sad for the young child. She was only six and wouldn't understand anything fully, especially not that she was being given away.

"Here, Tomoyo," he said kindly and patiently, "Come with me now."

"No!" Tomoyo squealed, burying her face into Uina's side. "I want my mommy! I want my mommy! Auntie Uina, please!"

"Fucking great. Just fucking A."

"Miss Uina-" Marn warned.

"Get the kid off me, will you?" Uina snapped. "I don't have time for this." But Tomoyo would not leave her side. Finally, completely losing her temper, she wrenched the little girl free and held her at arms length. "Shut your trap," Uina hissed without a shred of humanity. "Your mommy doesn't want you anymore, okay? Get that through your fucking head! That's why she sent me to get rid of you. So just deal with it! Life fucking happens." Then she released Tomoyo, and stalked out into the rainy night.

This time Tomoyo did not attempt to follow. She only cried.

* * *

_Abandonment is one of the worst things we can experience. It means to be treated like waste and to get your feelings tread on. It means you get hurt over and over again, and in the end you are left alone._

_Sometimes, when life decides to be especially cruel, those less fortunate lose everything and everyone. Such is the case of orphans. Abandoned, forgotten, and unwanted._

_Others go on. While some of us become stuck with no way out._

* * *

The next morning, the whole orphanage was abuzz about the new girl. It wasn't very often that they got new orphans. It wasn't that there was a shortage of orphaned children, it was just that most services tended to direct the children into larger institutions who were able to systematically put the children into homes, whether these homes suited them or not.

George Marn's Institution for Children was not such a place. Director Marn believed in caring about the life of the child even after they had left the orphanage. Since opening, he had successfully placed only 20% orphans into homes, a very low industry standard.

As such, a new orphaned child was always exciting.

"Did you hear? Did you hear?" Josh Dean piped enthusiastically as he snuck into the girls' room and onto Sakura's bed. The girls' room, similar to the boys', was one large area set up with numerous beds. Josh's two loyal followers trailed after him, Wolf and Kanezawa.

"What?" Sakura asked sleepily as she rolled away from Josh's loud voice. She could catch about ten more minutes of sleep if Josh would go away. Miss Ikoji would be up to call them to wash and breakfast, and at the moment Sakura wanted nothing more than just to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

"The new girl," Wolf said shyly. "She came in last night."

Sakura buried her head in the pillow. New girl? Was Josh pulling a prank on her again? But Wolf wouldn't lie to her. In her honest six year old opinion, he was the kindest out of Josh's gang.

"Go away!" Jeany shouted from across the room crossly.

Josh ignored Jeany's complaint and started to shake Sakura by the shoulder. "Wake up!" he said loudly and excitedly. "Don't you want to see the new girl?"

"Mhm..." Sakura murmured sleepily. "In a few minutes..."

"Jeez, you're hopeless!" Josh huffed. Then he jumped onto her bed and kicked her.

"Ow!" Sakura screamed, and thrashed about furiously. She caught Josh by the ankle, tripped him in her sheets and then pounced on him, fully awake now.

But Josh was two years older than her and he easily thwarted her attacks. Just when it looked like she was going to bite him, Josh keeled over, shouting, "My knee! My injured knee!"

Sakura leapt off the bed and away from Josh as if the action meant she had nothing to do with anything at all.

Josh climbed off the bed, grinning. "Got you! Now that you're awake, let's go see-"

She punched him in the chest.

Kanezawa laughed. Wolf tried to reason with Sakura but she was a vicious thing who refused to listen.

Jeany was screaming at the top of her lungs now. The rest of the girls in the room were starting to climb out of the bed and watch the fight that was going on.

Just as things were going to become even worse, Touya burst into the room. He took one look at the situation and summed it up to what it was. He grabbed Sakura by the scruff of her faded white nightgown and hauled her away from the fight.

He turned to Jeany and told her to shut up.

Then he glared at Sakura. "What. did. I. tell. you. about. fighting!?"

Sakura pointed at Josh. "He started it! He started _it_!"

"I don't care," Touya exclaimed, his brown eyes soldering with anger. Then he lowered his voice. "_Do_ you want to get thrown out on the streets? Keep this up and Miss Ikoji is going to get her way!"

Sakura opened her mouth and then shut it. No. Not the streets. Never that again. Her face became withdrawn and emotionless that even Touya could not tell what she was thinking.

"And you Josh Dean," Touya rounded on the eight year old bully whose sandy blond hair was falling into his grey eyes. His face was flushed, and his cheeks rosy from the fight. "What did I tell you about staying away from Sakura?"

Josh puffed his chest out in an attempt to be taller than Touya. Failing that, he said peevishly instead, "You're not the boss of me!"

"What I say counts here," Touya said unperturbed. "You stay away from Sakura or else I'll make you regret it."

At this time, Kanezawa – more often called Kane - decided it would be a good idea to look like a hero. He shoved Touya and kicked him in the shin.

Like Josh, Kane was only eight but he was more strongly built. Miss Noche always said Kanezawa would be a handsome football star some day. So when he kicked Touya, Touya winced in pain. And then Josh, seeing his opportunity, piled on. Together, the two misfits threw punches on the older boy while Wolf chose to remain out of it.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Jeany was shrieking from her bed across the room.

Then Yukito ducked into the room. Tomoyo, the new girl, was behind him, not daring to step into the chaotic room.

Yukito helped Touya who really didn't need any help. So he had to instead restrain Sakura who had dived right into the fight again with vigour.

"Everyone, that's enough!" Yukito said in such a deadly, unexpected tone that everyone stopped in their tracks. He looked at each of them, making sure they would not move. Satisfied, he allowed the customary friendly smile to slide back onto his face. "If Miss Ikoji saw you, you guys would be in trouble."

Kane shoved his hands into his pocket, Wolf scowled at them, and Josh frowned.

"Stupid Sakura," Josh muttered.

Not missing a word, Sakura retorted. "I hate you, Josh Dean! Hate, hate you!"

Josh's face turned red with embarrassment. No one had ever said that directly to his face. Sure, a lot of the kids that he bullied in the orphanage hated him but none had dared to say that outright.

He spluttered for a moment, uncertain how to respond to this situation. He was aware that everyone in the room was now wide awake and staring at him, waiting to watch his next move. Even Jeany had stopped screaming and was looking at him.

"Well... well… I hate you too!" he blustered. He didn't hate Sakura at all, in fact he quite liked hanging out with her. She didn't shy away from trouble and wasn't all that picky about icky things, such as making mud pies and throwing them on the windows. But saying those words were what they all expected him to. And when he said them with a quavering voice, he could see that his audience was starting to wear smirks and sneers.

Josh looked around, frantically, for something to regain the respect of his fellow orphans. His eyes landed on Sakura's precious bear, still lying on the bed. He leapt over it and grabbed it. Then he turned and faced Sakura, flashing her a triumphant grin.

"Don't!"

But it was too late. Josh gave a pull, and a sickening ripping sound cut through the air. He had ripped the entire bear's head off. He then proceeded to pull out the stuffing and throw it at Sakura's feet as if to make his point clearer.

Sakura stared, her mouth slightly open. Josh fully expected her to cry but instead her green eyes lit up like wells of fire.

"I'm going to rip off your head!"

She sprung towards him, hands outstretched, aiming for his neck. Startled, Josh took a step back, his face becoming pale.

"_Sakura Kinomto_!"

Miss Ikoji's sharp voice rang through the air, freezing everyone in their tracks.

"_What did you say, Sakura Kinomoto?_"

"I'm going to _kill_ him," Sakura pressed on. She turned and pointed straight at Josh. "You're going to regret doing that, Josh Dean! You're going to-"

Miss Ikoji strode from the doorway and straight to Sakura. She raised her hand and cuffed her.

"I will have no such talk in this orphange, you hear me?"

Sakura spun around, her eyes wide. "B-But he k-killed my bear…"

Miss Ikoji's cool eyes turned and looked over Josh and the beheaded bear. Disdain filled her face. "Your bear is not alive, Sakura. It can't be killed. It was filthy anyway and about time we got rid of it."

Josh swallowed and quickly dropped the bear as Miss Ikoji's eyes found his. "And you Josh Dean, don't you think I'm done with you." She wagged her finger. "To Director Marn's office. Now. Both of you."

She marched her two convicts to the door and turned to the rest of the silent children. "Well, what are you lot waiting for? Wash, make your beds, and down to breakfast with all of you. Now!"

* * *

Director Marn was not pleased to see Sakura again so soon. He sat behind his desk, his hands crossed as he stared at the two young children standing in his office. Miss Ikoji hovered behind, like an eagle mother who had just caught two mice in her claws.

"So…" Director Marn said slowly, looking older than he was. "What is it this time?"

Miss Ikoji stared pointedly at the two children, her lips pressed firmly together. If there was one good quality about Miss Ikoji, it was her ability to learn quickly. After last night's argument with the Director, she had come to terms immediately with the Director's softness. He liked to hear the children speak for themselves so Miss Ikoji would not insert herself needlessly. Let the Director handle it until he could no more. Then he would come crawling to her, begging her for advice.

Sakura shuffled her foot on the lush red carpet, feeling extremely vulnerable and alone without her comfy bear who had been her first friend. Josh Dean stood beside her, his sandy blond hair ruffled, and the scrape on his knee red and irritated.

When neither of the children offered to explain, Director Marn focused his stern eyes on Josh who was the older one. Josh had been admitted into the orphanage as an infant. His mother had left him on the steps of a chapel and the priest had given George Marn the bundle. George had never seen a more beautiful boy, all gurgles and hopeful smiles. His large grey eyes had been bright and intelligent, full of wonder. But as Josh grew up, he became more and more rowdy, choosing to pick on the other children rather than make close friends. He became angry and turned that anger into mischief whenever he could. And when Sakura joined the orphanage two years ago, Josh had taken an instant liking to the green-eyed girl, choosing to pick on her more than any of the others. Sakura had tolerated it without a word, and had even turned to bullying Josh every now and then.

Marn stared at the eight year old boy who quickly averted his eyes. Marn remembered the times when Sakura had put a bug in Josh's breakfast, put dirt in his pillowcase, and even thrown pebbles at him. Her most recent retaliation seemed to be pushing Josh off the playground swing even if she insisted otherwise, George knew.

"Josh," Director Marn said, "What happened?"

Josh puffed his cheek out and started to fidget endlessly. "It was Sakura's fault," he said immediately. "She started it."

"I did not!" Sakura retorted almost instantly.

"Did too!" Josh shouted, pointing an accusatory finger. "She punched me!"

"You killed my bear!" Sakura screamed back. And as if the words had incited the memory, she pounced, intent on beating Josh to the ground.

Miss Ikoji easily grabbed Sakura's arm and kept her in place. The six year old struggled and howled as Josh backed away with a smug smile.

George Marn rubbed his temples and glanced at the grandfather clock. _Not even 8 am_.

"Stop this nonsense!" Miss Ikoji chided, swatting away Sakura's fists. "If you continue to behave like an animal, I will treat you as one!" The threat in the tall and stiff-backed woman was enough to quieten down the children into submission again.

George stood up, frowning. He did not agree with Miss Ikoji's methods but there was no use scolding her in front of children who were already in trouble.

_But what should he do with them?_ George might have been a kind man and an excellent orphanage Director but he was no parent. He had been married for thirty-six years until ten years ago cancer had taken his beloved wife. They had no children of their own and George had never re-married. Running the orphanage had become his life.

The easy thing here would be to simply to let Miss Ikoji handle it, but George Marn knew he couldn't do that. As long as he was alive, Miss Ikoji would never be allowed to use her methods.

He looked at the two bright-eyed kids and sighed inwardly. He stood tall and placed a frown on his weathered face.

"This sort of behaviour is unacceptable, Josh, Sakura." He shook his head to emphasize his displeasure. "I have been lenient and kind in the past but this simply cannot go on. Your constant fighting is disruptive and unproductive to the orphanage."

Marn paused, wishing he did not have to resort to punishment but they had left him with no other alternative. He had tried the nice way, now he would have to try the harsher method. He continued, "You will go without TV for three days," he dictated, hearing Josh's sharp intake of breath. "You will not be given permission to go to the playground during this time. In essence," Marn paused. "You are grounded."

"Grounded?" Josh whispered. No TV for a week? No playground? "B-But that's unfair! Sakura started it! She-"

Miss Ikoji's whiplash glare made the rest of Josh's complaint die in his throat. She turned to the Director, "That is hardly a punishment, George. They will just find a way around it and-"

But the Director ignored Miss Ikoji. He bent slightly, feeling his age creak his bones and faced the children. "I expect you to follow the rules. Both of you. If you respect me as I respect you, you will listen to me and behave properly. Do I have your promise?"

Josh sulked but Sakura nodded slowly. "Yes, Director Marn," she said quietly. "I won't get into any more trouble _ever_. I promise."

George allowed a small smile. He doubted Sakura would _never_ get into more trouble, but he could see she was willing to try. And that was all he really asked for. He turned to the other troublemaker. "And you, Josh?"

"Yes, Director Marn," Josh intoned. "I promise."

The Director nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now go get some breakfast."

As the two children bounded away, relieved to be let go without a further lecture, Miss Ikoji turned to the Director. "Really, George? You expect those children to hold onto their promises?"

Marn turned to the woman he had hired and worked with for nearly two decades. "And why not, Marea?"

Miss Ikoji opened her mouth as if to explain, but she changed her mind. With steely eyes, she told him instead, "We shall see." And then walked away.

* * *

Once in the hallway, Josh followed after Sakura like a lost puppy. Now that the trouble and danger was over, he was feeling the tinges of guilt. He had known Sakura for two whole years and he knew how much she had liked that bear. Despite his two other friends, Kane and Wolf, who he had grown up with, Josh still felt that Sakura was his best friend out of all of them.

"Hey…" he ventured, hopping to catch up with the honey-brown haired girl. "Are you… mad at me?"

Sakura sniffed and walked even faster, ignoring the bully.

"Hey-! Wait!" Josh had to run to catch up. He grabbed her arm so she would slow down.

"Let go, Josh Dean!" Sakura yelled. For a moment, she wanted to hit him but held back with will. She had promised the Director.

Josh let go immediately. He whispered, "I'm… sorry, Sakura. Really… I am…"

Unforgiving as only a six year old child could be, Sakura turned away and continued down the hallway to the breakfast hall. "I hate you, Josh Dean," she muttered under her breath, stomping on the velvet plush carpet and wishing it was Josh's face.

Josh followed. "I'll… I'll fix the bear," he suggested. If anyone else had been with them, Josh would have acted differently, but alone, he was scared Sakura would never speak to him again.

Innocently Sakura stopped, her attention caught. "How?" she demanded to know.

"Well… " Josh looked around desperately. "Well… you know… with sewing. Like how Miss Noche does."

Sakura peered up at the sandy blond-haired boy doubtfully. "You know how to sew?"

Josh puffed up as if she had insulted him. "Of course!" he lied. "I know how to do everything!"

Still a little doubtful but with a glimmer of hope, Sakura took a step towards Josh. "So you'll… sew teddy back…?"

Josh nodded and watched with a degree of relief as Sakura beamed up at him. "Fine," she said, forgiving him immediately. "Let's go get the sewing stuff from Miss Noche then!"

Josh became slightly pale. He hadn't anticipated _right now_. "Wait," he said as Sakura slipped her hand into his and gave it an impatient tug. "Miss Noche… Miss Noche will never _just_ give us the needles and stuff."

Sakura's eyes widened as if this thought had never occurred to her. "R-Right," she whispered. Miss Noche was Miss Ikoji's apprentice. Where Miss Ikoji was strictest to the absolute sense, Miss Noche was a big gossiper. "What then?" Sakura asked.

"Um… we… steal it."

"What!?"

"Yeah… yeah!" Josh gained confidence as the plan started to form in his head. "You'll distract Miss Noche and I'll go and take her sewing things."

"No!" Sakura exclaimed. "W-We promised Director Marn not to get into any more trouble!"

Josh flashed his handsome grin. "Then we just won't get caught."

* * *

Tomoyo sat at the wooden breakfast table as Yukito kindly laid out a plate in front of her and Touya pushed a glass of orange juice towards her. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap and she glanced around with astonishment. She had never seen so many children in one place.

She glanced up, noticing that the two older boys were looking at her with unbridled curiousity.

"Um…" she blushed, suddenly feeling shy and self-conscious. After her horrible ordeal with Aunt Uina last night, meeting Director Marn and the two helpful boys were everything that Tomoyo needed. She was used to being stared at and complimented by her mother's wealthy friends, but somehow this was different.

"What's your name?" Yukito asked gently. The girl had hardly said two words since this morning.

"T-Tomoyo Daidouji!" she murmured.

"That's a nice name." Touya smiled. The young girl was pretty with big and beautiful eyes, and long midnight hair. She was the same age as Sakura but she reminded Touya nothing of the ferocious Kinomoto girl.

Tomoyo smiled shyly. "Thank you," she murmured politely, remembering the manners her mother had taught her to display in front of the affluent visitors and politicians. "You are… Touya, and Yukito. I am very pleased to meet you."

Both of the boys nodded. They had introduced themselves to her early in the morning, and had wanted to introduce her to another girl. But when they had arrived at the girl's dormitory, there had been a fight.

"So how did you land up here?" Touya asked without tact. Anyone who wasn't blind could see that Tomoyo hadn't been picked up off the streets like the majority of them were.

Tomoyo's eyes misted over as she remembered what had happened. "I-I…" She sniffled, her eyes filling with tears. Touya reeled back in alarm. Having spent so much time with Sakura, he had grown accustomed to asking hard questions and receiving a defiant silence in return, or a fist. Not this.

Yukito leapt to the rescue. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," he said quickly. "We didn't mean to be nosy."

"No… it's not your fault," Tomoyo whispered. She picked up her spoon and hastily spooned in the mushy and colourless porridge into her mouth. It tasted absolutely horrible, and nothing like the rich breakfasts she often had with her mother on Sundays. But she wouldn't let this defeat her. She tried another spoonful.

Touya watched mesmerized as the girl ate a spoon after another. In his experience, most of the abandoned children had complained about the disgusting food. Sakura had wolfed it down, apparently she had been starving. But Tomoyo… was another thing.

Yukito shared a glance with his friend and continued on, filling the uncomfortable silence. "For me, I ended up here when my grandparents passed away… There was no one else to take care of me."

Tomoyo looked at Yukito with alarm. "I-I'm so sorry about your grandparents," she blurted out.

Yukito smiled at her sincerity. "It's not quite so bad here once you get used to it. Director Marn is really nice to all of us."

Touya nodded. Feeling like he should also share – something he did not like – he explained, "My parents were divorced when I was young. My mother couldn't support us so she left me here."

Touya remembered that painful night. Like Tomoyo, Touya had been driven to the orphanage. His mother had cried the entire way but would not let her son know why. At the time, Touya had not been old enough to understand. Lina Avalon had promised she would come back for him, once she had enough money. But the years had dragged by and Touya had never seen his mother again.

Tears crept into Tomoyo's eyes again as she remembered her own mother, Sonomi. "My… mother was also… divorced," she whispered, peering at the two boys under dark lashes thick with tears. "Aunt Uina… was my father's sister. Sh-She left me here."

Yukito patted the girl on the back while Touya didn't know what to say.

Tomoyo looked at them and smiled bravely, brushing away her tears hastily. "B-But it's okay. Mother is probably better off without me."

* * *

Sneaking into the matron's quarters was unheard of and would definitely land them both into huge trouble. But Josh Dean had talked Sakura into it and now she followed him loyally.

They passed closed door after closed door until Josh read Miss Noche's name plate off the wooden door they now stood in front of.

"This one," he whispered.

Sakura nodded mutely. She couldn't read all that well herself yet so she trusted Josh's wisdom.

"Okay." Josh grinned. "Just knock on the door, Sakura. And when Miss Noche comes, tell her you have a tummy ache. She'll take you to the nurse, and then I'll sneak in and take the sewing stuff."

Sakura stared at Josh. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"Yeah," Josh muttered with false confidence. "Just trust me, okay?" He gave her a little shove and then darted down the hallway, hiding around the corner. He peaked around and gave Sakura a thumbs-up sign, then ducked around the corner again.

Sakura chewed her bottom lip. Then hesitantly, she rapped lightly on the door.

She heard muffled voices through the door and leaned forward ever so slightly. There was a female voice and a male's.

Then the door was wrenched open and Miss Noche stood in the doorway, towering over the little girl.

"Wha-?" she asked, her face flushed and her hair slightly mussed. "S-Sakura _Kinomoto_?"

Sakura could have sworn she saw something like fear in Miss Noche's eyes which was quickly replaced with disbelief and anger. "What are you doing here, Sakura Kinomoto?" Miss Noche hollered.

"T-Tummy… ache…?" Sakura whispered with an uncertain smile.

"Tummy…? Oh for goodness sakes!" Miss Noche grabbed Sakura by the arm, making sure to keep the young girl from peering into her room and shut her door quickly. "Why didn't you just go straight to the nurse's?" Shaking her head with disbelief, Miss Noche marched Sakura away.

Sakura twisted to try and send Josh a signal that she had heard someone else was in the room, but there was no way Josh understood as he crept around the corner, flashing Sakura a triumphant grin.

The last thing Sakura saw as Miss Noche dragged her away was Josh heading straight for Miss Noche's room.

* * *

The children did not see Sakura or Josh all through breakfast. After breakfast, the children were ushered into a classroom of sorts to learn basic numbers and letters from volunteering nuns who had come from the Chapel down the street.

Sister Augustine taught the children ages 3 to 9, while Sister Mabell taught more advanced lessons for children 10 and above.

Kane and Wolf sat at one of the rickety round tables adding simple numbers on a worksheet with a pencil they were given. Tomoyo sat across from them, alone and obediently doing her work.

Sister Augustine paced the classroom, stopping now and then to help children who were stuck on a particular problem. She left the younger children with drawings to colour. It was all very quiet and harmonious until Josh Dean burst into the room, like a tornado unleashed, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Stop! Stop! I didn't mean to! I didn't meaaaan to!"

Seeing their friend, Kane and Wolf immediately leapt to their feet. The rest of the class stared dumbfounded as a man crashed into the room, hot behind the heels of Josh, screaming obscenities – words that the children couldn't quite understand yet - naked except for a towel wrapped around his waist.

Sister Augustine's face turned pale with horror as she looked upon the man. "F-Frank?"

Frank halted in his step at the sound of his name, looking utterly bewildered as Josh dashed over a table, knocking over a jar of paint, and straight behind Sister Augustine.

"_Frank_?" Sister Augustine repeated, a hint of incredulousness in her tone. "What… What do you think you're doing!?"

"I…" Frank looked around, finally seeming to recognize the room full of eyes looking at him. He flushed red from embarrassment but not shame. "I can explain-"

But Sister Augustine had recovered from her initial shock. Her disbelief was steadily replaced with anger. What was the man thinking? Coming into a room full of _children_ practically naked!?

"Frank Marn!" she said in a steely voice. "You've really outdone yourself this time!" She took a menacing step towards him. Sister Augustine had always been hot-tempered and she had undergone years of practice in patience to hold onto her anger. Her nostrils flared but she made no further move, trying to bring her temper under control. "How dare you come in here looking like… like that!"

"Look-" Frank grabbed at his tiny towel, trying to cover more of himself. "I can explain- Really – I can-"

"I _found_ him in Miss Noche's room!" Josh Dean shouted from the other end of the classroom triumphantly.

Sister Augustine felt her anger catch in her throat and she felt like throwing up. It was with a great deal of self-control that she forced herself to behave like an adult. Although Josh might not understand the implications of what he had just said, Frank surely did. His face turned purple with rage.

"You little liar!" he spat, seething. "Wait until I get my hands on you!" He made to charge across the room.

Sister Augustine quickly stepped in, stopping him. "Get out of my classroom right this instant, Frank! And go put on some clothes! This is indecent!"

Frank's brown eyes focused on Augustine and his face seemed to melt. "Augustine, you don't understand," he pleaded. "That kid is a liar. And a bad one at that!"

Augustine narrowed her eyes. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, "Then why are you _naked_, Mr. Marn!?"

"I…" Frank looked alarmed and bitter at the same time. "It's not what you think. Hey, look. Just don't tell my brother, okay?"

Sister Augustine's chiselled face was unmerciful. "I have had it up to here with your shenanigans!"

Frank was the Director's younger brother by twenty years. In Augustine's opinion, he was the child that had never grown up. He had never held a real job for more than a month and basically lived off of George's orphanage. In her opinion, it was disgusting, but that was Marn family business not hers. She was a woman of God, and would not judge others no matter how much she disapproved. "What you do in your spare time is none of my business! Now… just go!"

But Frank would not leave so easily. He pointed at Josh while keeping one hand clutching his towel. "Give me that boy," he said. "I'll teach him what liars get. I'll put the fear of God into him."

"Excuse me!?"

"Sister Augustine," Frank turned to her. "Everyone knows that kid is a spoiled brat and a bully. A liar too. Let me teach him a lesson or two. He'll never dare lie again."

"I'm _not_ lying!" Josh yelled in his own defence from the other side of the room as angry as Frank himself. "He was in Miss Noche's room. I saw him! He's the liar!"

Sister Augustine knew full well who was lying just by looking at Frank and the lack of clothing. She couldn't believe Miss Noche would associate with the likes of this man. But then again, not everyone had morals.

Shaking her head, Sister Augustine said in a firm and commanding voice that she used on the children, "Turn around, Frank Marn, and leave my classroom! Go put on some clothes and we'll speak afterwards."

But Frank would not give up so easily. If his older brother, George, found out about _this_, George would kick him out for good. George had always been adamant about Frank's behaviour around the matrons. George loved his orphanage and didn't want his irresponsible brother sleeping around like a Casanova under his roof. No, this would not do. Frank needed Josh to keep his mouth shut. He opened his mouth to persuade Sister Augustine to reconsider but at that moment, Sister Mabell poked her head around the corner.

"Sister? What's going on? I heard shout-" The rest of the words died in Sister Mabell's throat as she was presented with a clear and direct view of Frank's rosy buttocks. She gave a half gurgled scream and fainted right on the spot.

Frank turned around just in time to see Mabell's head hit the floor with a resounding crack. "Oh, fucking great!" Frank shouted as Sister Augustine gave a yell of horror, shoving aside Frank to reach the unconscious nun. "It's just my ass. That's an overreaction way beyond-"

"Frank!" Sister Augustine yelled, kneeling over Mabell. "She's an old lady that's been with the chapel since she was ten. A little decent respect here, please?"

Frank sulked, running a hand through his tousled greying hair, wondering how his day had turned out to be so horrible. Miss Noche might be fair enough to look at but she was just an average lay in bed, definitely not worth all this trouble.

Sister Augustine was calling softly to Mabell but the older nun was out cold. Augustine felt fear clench her heart. Mabell was the oldest nun in the chapel after Mother Superior. She was sixty-two, and the sound of her head hitting the floor had sent chills into Augustine's spine.

"Sister Mabell? Sister Mabell?"

There was no response. Augustine felt her anger flare up again. She was about to climb back onto her feet and give Frank Marn a piece of her mind once and for all when she felt someone approach her side. She looked up surprised to see the new girl, Tomoyo Daidouji, coming to stand beside her.

"Is she okay, Sister Augustine?" Tomoyo asked, her eyes wide and horrified.

"She'll be okay," Sister Augustine reassured the young girl in her best soothing voice. "She's just… sleeping for a bit."

Tomoyo turned to look at Augustine with doubt and pointed. "But she's bleeding, Sister Augustine."

With dread, Augustine looked at where the young girl was pointing. A small puddle of blood was trickling from Sister Mabell's ear onto the floor.

"Oh my god!" Augustine leapt to her feet. "Oh, my god!" She rushed for the telephone that was kept at the front of the classroom.

"What is it?" Frank asked obliviously, staring disdainfully at the unconscious Mabell.

Augustine ignored him, reaching the phone. She picked it up and quickly made the emergency call. After she was given instructions by the 911 operator to not move the unconscious nun, Sister Augustine hung up and called George Marn.

* * *

When George Marn received news of what had transpired in his orphanage, he was furious! Once again, his brother had let him down.

Extremely disappointed and ripe with anger, George had staggered out of his chair.

"That Frank!" he had bellowed, uncharacteristically for the kindly old man. "What am I to do with him!?"

"It's alright, George," his secretary, Akari, said, trying to calm the old Director down. "The paramedics are here and it seems like Sister Mabell is going to be okay. She only suffered a mild concussion."

George clutched his chest. His heart was beating uncomfortably fast. "Frank! This was all his fault! The Sisters of the Chapel-" he had to pause to catch his breath. "The Sisters… they come here out of their own time to teach these children. Out of the kindness of their hearts! They didn't deserve to be treated like this-"

"George! George!" Akari rushed towards him, her pregnant belly slowing down her steps. "Take a deep breath! Anger isn't good for your health!"

"How can I not be angry?" George asked. "He's my brother! To think Miss Noche… and him…" The Director broke into a fit of coughing.

"George," Akari said, patting his back until his coughs had subsided. "Take your pills. You know your heart condition. You shouldn't be so worked up."

George Marn accepted the bottle of pills that his secretary handed him. "My brother…" he muttered as he popped open the lid and took two pills, swallowing it without water. "My own brother… How did the apple fall so far from the tree?"

His secretary sighed knowing her employer's pain. Frank Marn was the worst kind of sibling to have. "You spoil him too much, George," she said softly. "He needs to be working. He needs a real job."

George shook his head sadly, finally getting his anger under control. "I've introduced him to so many opportunities. Each time, he lets the opportunities pass by. Where did I go wrong?"

Akari patted his back with a warm smile. "George, you're not his mother. He's old enough to find his own way."

George sighed, his wrinkles seeming to become harsher and older on his face. "But I am his brother. And I only want what's best for him." George stood up stiffly. "I should go talk to him. Again."

His secretary shook her head. "Not a good idea, George," she cautioned. "He'll only make you angry. And with your heart…"

George smiled humourlessly. "Oh, he'll make me angry alright, I don't doubt that. But I can't leave it alone."

Then he marched out of his office to find his younger brother.

* * *

The last person to know about the whole drama and affair that had taken place was Miss Noche herself. She had accompanied Sakura to the Nurse's office for a check-up. After spending thirty minutes with the Nurse and finding nothing conclusive, Miss Noche frowned.

"And where did you say it hurts, Sakura?" she asked impatiently.

"My tummy…" Sakura lied. Since she had started, she was in too deep now to admit otherwise.

"Yes, but where, honey dear?" the Nurse asked kindly. She was a portly woman with greying hair that she liked to brush up into a bun, tucked neatly behind a crisp and clean nurse's hat.

"Here…" Sakura said noncommittally, pointing to a random spot on her stomach.

The Nurse reached out and touched gently. "And does it hurt if I do this, honey dear?"

"No… Maybe? A bit."

"What?" Miss Noche asked, raising her voice. "What does that mean?"

"Now, now," the Nurse said with a smile at Miss Noche. "She must mean that it hurts sometimes, don't you, honey dear?"

"Yes…?" Sakura wasn't at all sure about anything anymore. She was bored out of her mind from sitting in the Nurse's office while the Nurse continually asked her questions such as: what did she have for breakfast? Did she get a good night's sleep? Did she eat all her food? And so on.

"You know what I think?" Miss Noche exclaimed finally, throwing up her hands in frustration. "I think Sakura is feeling just fine. She just doesn't want to go to class, am I right?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Um… no!" she quickly denied. "I was feeling a tummy ache… I just don't anymore…"

The Nurse's eyes twinkled. She had been employed under George Marn for decades. She had heard all sorts of tricks and excuses and this one was right out of the book. "Alright then, honey dear," the Nurse said, taking back her hand and starting to scribble some notes onto her yellow pad. She tore it off and handed it to Miss Noche. "I recommend a few more hours of sleep for this little one here for a week. If she still feels unwell, come see me again."

Miss Noche peered at the Nurse's barely legible writing, shrugged, and grabbed Sakura's hand. "Will do," she muttered, leading the little girl out of the Nurse's office and marching her to the classroom.

Sakura followed without argument, wondering whether if Josh had managed to sew back her bear's head or not. Miss Noche, on the other hand, daydreamed of Frank and all the naughty things they could and would do together later on.

* * *

They knew something was wrong even before they were near the classroom. There were strangers in the orphanage hallways, wearing white and blue.

Paramedics, Miss Noche had explained, hurrying even more.

When they arrived at the classroom, they found a small puddle of red blood on the floor and Sister Mabell on a white bed on wheels, IV tubes running into her arm. Her head had been bandaged up.

"W-What happened!?" Miss Noche exclaimed, striding into the room to stand beside and peer at Sister Mabell.

Sister Augustine narrowed her eyes at the woman but she needn't say anything because Miss Ikoji had also arrived. Ikoji's eyes were cold, dark, and unreadable. Miss Ikoji took one look at Miss Noche and stormed towards her, taking the younger woman by the arm and steering her away to have a private conversation. From the thunderous look on her face, all would not be well.

Without anyone paying attention to her, Sakura went to join her friends. All the children had been ushered towards the back of the classroom where the adults sorted out things in the front. Sakura spotted Kane and Wolf and made towards them.

Wolf spotted her first and his face lit up at the sight of her. Even though he might be a young boy, he had developed a major crush on Sakura.

"Where's Josh?" was the first thing Sakura asked, much to Wolf's disappointment.

Kane pointed. "In the next room. With Director Marn and Frank."

"Why?" Sakura frowned, tilting her head to look.

Kane shrugged and looked towards Wolf for an answer. Sakura turned her attention onto Wolf and Wolf blushed. Lately, Sakura had found him doing that _a lot_ even though she didn't know why.

"Frank came in here screaming at Josh," Wolf explained refusing to meet Sakura's eyes. "Frank wasn't wearing any clothes."

Sakura wrinkled her nose, confused. "Why?"

Kane shrugged. "He looked pretty angry at Josh. Then Sister Augustine started to yell at Frank." Kane grinned. "You should have seen it Sakura! Then Sister Mabell came in and hit her head on the floor. Then Sister Augustine called the hospital."

Wolf nodded. "And then Director Marn came. He said something to Frank and then they all went into the other room."

Sakura frowned, wishing she could see what was going on. All she could think about was whether if Josh had the sewing stuff or not. She was also a bit curious about Frank and what sort of trouble he had gotten into this time. All the children knew of Frank's temper and the fact that the Director and him often got into yelling arguments.

The door to the classroom opened and a file of older children entered. It was Sister Mabell's class. Miss Tamess had brought them all into the same room so that they wouldn't be without supervision.

Sakura spotted Touya and Yukito. Without a second thought to either Kane or Wolf, Sakura ditched them and went to her best friends.

"What happened?" Yukito asked bewildered, looking around.

"I thought you would know," Sakura said, chewing her lip. "Did you see Josh?"

"What?" Touya asked, distracted as he looked at the paramedics curiously. "We heard yelling, and then Sister Mabell came over to look. She didn't come back and after a while Miss Tamess came and told us to continue working."

Sakura was disappointed. She wished that the Director would finish with Josh soon so she could talk to him.

Her attention was interrupted when Yukito waved to someone behind her. Sakura turned to see a pretty girl approaching them uncertainly.

Sakura was certain she had never seen the girl before and when Yukito introduced her, she knew it was the newcomer that everyone had been talking about.

"Hello," Tomoyo said shyly. "It-It's nice to meet you."

Sakura broke out into a grin. Who knew what it was? But she felt an instant liking to Tomoyo. "I'm Sakura," she said with the enthusiasm only a child could have. "Let's be best friends!"

Tomoyo's beautiful eyes widened in shock at the sudden proposal. Then she returned the smile genuinely, her eyes becoming teary. "Best friends," she whispered in promise. "Forever." She had not expected this kindness from any of the children and was thankful they had found her.

"Best friends?" Yukito teased. "But what about me, Sakura? I thought we were best friends."

Sakura blushed. "We are, Yuki," she said. "And now so is Tomoyo." She looked towards stern Touya and grinned mischievously. "And Touya too."

Touya only grunted but Yukito knew his friend was glad to be included. Sakura had that kind of power, the ability to make people feel loved effortlessly. She had a big and welcoming heart. Yukito smiled as he watched Tomoyo and Sakura instantly bond, like old friends just rediscovering each other. He hoped that no matter what life threw at them that Sakura would always be so welcoming and loving.

"… and I'll show you everything!" Sakura was gushing to Tomoyo. "All the places to hide. And-" Like only a six year old could do so innocently and without hurting feelings, she led Tomoyo away from Touya and Yukito, having completely forgotten the boys.

Yukito laughed and Touya turned away, miffed.

Oblivious, Sakura took Tomoyo back to Kane and Wolf, introducing them.

"…And there's also Josh Dean," she concluded.

"The boy that the Director is speaking to," Tomoyo said knowingly. Apparently the little devil's reputation preceded him because even the new girl had come to know who he was.

"I hope Director Marn lets him go soon," Sakura said wistfully.

"Why?" Kane asked, staring at the green eyed girl with curiousity.

"Because," Sakura answered. "He promised he would fix my bear."

Kane frowned suspiciously. "How's he going to do that? He broke it completely."

"He'll sew it back on. He said he would."

"Sew?" Wolf asked, baffled. "Josh said he'll sew the bear up?"

Sakura nodded and Kane burst into laughter.

"He's lying, Sakura," Kane said, grinning. "Josh can't sew for his life. He's never done it before!"

"Don't lie to me!" Sakura warned childishly with a pout. "Josh said he can."

"He can't," Kane challenged, shaking his head.

"He can!"

"I'm telling you, he can't," Kane pressed back.

"Kane…! Josh said he can! He said so!"

Kane continued to laugh, much to Sakura's displeasure. "And Josh has never lied to you, right, Sakura?"

Hesitation crept over the little girl's face. "So… he can't? He lied?"

"Yes!" Kane insisted, oblivious to the girl's distress. "Josh is a liar. I don't know why you even believed him in the first place."

Sakura was furious. She clenched her fists. "Josh Dean is a liar!" she shouted. "I'm going to fight him!"

Wolf took a step back, surprised at the outburst while Kane sniggered.

"Sakura…" Tomoyo said quietly, interrupting the fireball forming in the green-eyed girl's head. "You… You shouldn't be mad at Josh… not really…"

"Why?" Sakura demanded.

"Um… well… um…"

"Yeah, why?" Kane asked, coming to stand beside Sakura. He peered at Tomoyo with unabashed interest.

"Well… because…" Tomoyo murmured shyly. She had always been a timid and respectful girl. Being put on the spot like this flustered her and Kane's molten gold eyes did not help matters. "Because… well…"

"Yes…?" Kane pushed, taking another step towards the blushing girl, enjoying her discomfort. "Why? Why? Why?"

"Um… um..."

Kane grinned and reached out and gave Tomoyo's long pretty curls a small yank. "Why, Tomoyo, why? Speak, Tomoyo, speak!"

Tears brimmed in Tomoyo's large eyes as the older boy advanced on her with predatory eyes.

Sakura pushed away Kane's hand that was curled around Tomoyo's lock of hair. "Leave her alone," Sakura said impatiently, not even a bit intimidated by the older boy. Kane stared at Sakura sullenly. Even though Kane was more strongly built and more handsome than Josh was, everyone seemed to like and fear Josh more than him. Sakura feared none of them. She pushed Kane away until he had taken a couple of steps back. "Go away," she said.

Sulking, Kane slinked away, Wolf following.

"S-Sorry about that," Tomoyo whispered, brushing away her tears hastily. She didn't know why she was able to cry so easily. Even at home, her mother had been fed up with her daughter's softness. Tomoyo wished she could be more like Sakura. The other children had often called Tomoyo cry baby.

"For what?" Sakura asked, confused.

"For… for not… I don't know…" Tomoyo gave up, hopelessly unable to explain what she was sorry for.

Sakura smiled. "Exactly," she announced. "Don't worry about those guys. They're just stupid."

Tomoyo couldn't help but return Sakura's contagious smile. "Um… I was going to say… about Josh. You… You shouldn't be angry at him… because he's trying… trying to fix what he did wrong."

Sakura listened and considered this. "But I don't get it."

Tomoyo tried again. "He broke your bear, but he's trying to fix it for you. He's really, really sorry he broke it."

"Then why did he break it in the first place?"

Tomoyo opened her mouth to answer but found that she didn't know the answer. She paused and thought about it. The answer didn't come to her. She shook her head and shrugged gently. "I'm not sure."

* * *

"I told you specifically what was expected of you, Frank, and you crossed the line this time!"

Frank was slumped in a chair, resorting himself to listen to the old ramblings of his brother who seemed to be from another century. George had lent him his suit jacket to cover up a bit more decently but Frank was neither grateful nor repentant.

Since Sister Mabell had gone and hit her stupid head, Frank had been kept around, waiting first for the paramedics to arrive, and then his brother. He turned his head slightly and gave young Josh Dean the stink eye. All that damn kid's fault!

"Goodness sakes!" George was saying, shaking his head with disappointment in the exact way that Frank hated. "Miss Noche! She's so… young!"

Frank rolled his eyes. "Hey, if a fine piece of ass comes a calling, I answer."

George's frown deepened with an expression that clearly said this was not appropriate in front of children. "Frank, I can't allow this kind of behaviour to continue on without consequence! This orphanage can't afford to have you running around doing whatever the bloody hel- whatever you like! You're lucky that Sister Mabell is going to be alright. I shudder to think of what would have happened if the elderly sister had-"

"Oh please," Frank interrupted, standing up. He had had enough of this! George was always treating him like one of his orphaned kids, it was ridiculous. "Sister Mabell overreacted. All she saw was my ass cheeks. I didn't even give her a full frontal view."

George groaned, rubbing his temples. "You still don't see you're wrong, do you?"

"That's exactly it!" Frank hissed. "I'm _not_ wrong! What did I do wrong? Miss Noche begged for me. I obliged! It's pure human nature. I have _needs_!"

George slid a glance towards Josh who was only half listening to the adults fighting. George's arguments with Frank were so common place that even the children had grown bored of it.

"So you do admit that you and Miss Noche…?"

"Got it on? Damn right!" Frank agreed. "We've been going at each other for a few weeks now. She begs for me every night."

George glanced up at the ceiling, desperately wishing he was not having this conversation. He knew Frank was just trying to get on his nerves, and he was succeeding. "I'm too old to argue with you, Frank. I can't allow this sort of… relationship to go on in my orphanage. You need to go."

"_What_!?" Frank shouted, incredulous. "You're choosing a bunch of smelly kids over your own brother!?"

George leapt to his feet. "They are _not_ just smelly children! They need a home! And it's my job to see they get one!"

"Oh, ho," Frank exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation, and then quickly moving to cover himself again. "You think you're some sort of philanthropist, don't you? Always got to do the right thing!"

George frowned. "That's what good people do, Frank."

Frank shook his head. "Look at you, George. You say you're helping these kids but just look!" He pointed a finger at Josh. "You think your 'love, nurturing, patience, blah-di-be-blah' is going to help this kid here? No! It won't! You think he's going to grow up and become some corporate lawyer making 100g's a year? A cardiologist? Or even just a man with a decent job? No! He's going to be a drunk, homeless, sodding junkie. He's going to fuck some whores, get them pregnant, and leave them. Then _those_ kids are going to end up in an orphanage like this, and it's all just going to start again. Over and over."

George Marn had gone completely purple with anger. "H-How dare you…!" he spluttered. "These children… they're like my own! I would look after them!"

"For how long, George?" Frank continued. "You're fucking old! You're gonna die some day! And who'll look after them?" He threw back his head and laughed. "Miss Ikoji? Frigid as ice, that woman. She'll look after them _real_ well!"

"M-Miss Ikoji is a good-"

"Oh, your delusions are laughable! I'll tell you what this orphanage is, George! It's a money pit, that's what it is! It's not even charity, just stupidity at its best!"

George took a step towards his younger brother, fists raised. He was not proud of his actions but Frank had been goading him for years! He could not believe his brother had turned out to be this kind of a man! He threw a punch.

Frank easily caught it. He was younger, more agile, and did not have a pre-existing heart condition. His hand wrapped around George's balled up fist, and heaved him back. George stumbled on a chair leg and fell backwards with a sharp cry of dismay.

Frank grinned and leapt on him, beating him.

Josh shrieked.

And the matrons, Sister Augustine, and the remaining paramedics rushed into the room to break up the fight.

It wasn't much of a fight.

Frank easily had the upper hand and he had relentlessly given George what he thought his brother deserved.

The injuries were severe and there was much bleeding and broken bones. George Marn was rushed directly to the hospital, leaving behind him a wake of chaos and a very frightened young boy.

Josh had witnessed the entire thing. Even though he did not understand most of what had been said – indeed, he had paid almost no attention – he had definitely seen what Frank was capable of.

George Marn had wanted to handle the situation deftly, wanting to council Josh and maybe give him "the" talk about two adults who "love" each other depending on how much the young boy had seen, but all that was destroyed. Instead, he had unwittingly exposed Josh to an ugly fist-fight.

Frank would have turned on the young boy too if the paramedics had not sedated him and then promptly turned him over to the police who had arrived on scene after a second emergency call had been dispatched.

None of the kids would ever forget that day.

Because that was also the first day that Miss Ikoji took over the orphanage… permanently.

* * *

George Marn suffered a severe concussion, several broken ribs and teeth, and multiple flesh wounds to his head and arms. He was an old man with a heart condition and his brother did him no favours by injuring him.

He spent a week in the hospital. The matrons told the kids he was recuperating and that all would be well soon. But something had happened, and everything felt different.

Miss Ikoji took over running the orphanage in the absence of the Director. She implemented strict curfews and had no tolerance for rule breaking. Both Josh Dean and Sakura quickly learned how different Director Marn and Miss Ikoji were.

Where Director Marn was kind and patient, Miss Ikoji was cold and did not want nonsense. Every time Josh or Sakura got into trouble, she gave them ten whippings each. When that seemed to have limited effectiveness, she increased it to twenty whippings.

The orphanage quickly became a nightmare to live in. The children became sullen and frightened. Anything could get you into trouble, even speaking out of turn.

By the end of the week, it was clear Director Marn was not coming back. His condition had worsened and he had lost all consciousness. It was late one night that the orphanage finally learned that he had passed away.

Miss Ikoji grieved for a full one second before diving into work. Now that the orphanage was free from George Marn, she immediately made some major changes.

She fired the pregnant secretary and replaced her with Matron Miss Tamess. Miss Ikoji – Director Ikoji now – had always been disdainful of the pregnant lady and was all too happy to get rid of her.

Miss Noche was also let go with no references given whatsoever. Any calls made to the orphanage inquiring about Miss Noche's work behaviour were answered by Director Ikoji herself. The woman was intent on making sure Miss Noche never found work again. She had taken Miss Noche under her wing as an apprentice and her relationship with Frank Marn had embarrassed her.

Then she dealt with Frank Marn. On behalf of George Marn, she officially pressed charges. Frank Marn hired lawyers to defend against those charges and also to wrestle the orphanage away from her control. But Frank was unemployed and had no money of his own to speak of. He had lived off the orphanage for years. He lost both cases against Miss Ikoji. As a result, Frank was sent to jail to serve ten years for involuntary manslaughter, and Miss Ikoji received full rights over George Marn's Orphanage for Children.

The worst had begun.

* * *

The Yamazaki mansion residence was bustling with activity and people. Beautiful bouquets of balloons lined the roman pillars at the front and a large _Happy Birthday_ banner streamed in the wind. It was clear from the extravagant decorations that no expense had been spared for this occasion.

Expensive cars rolled up the long winding driveway towards the double front doors of the expansive mansion. Entitled and wealthy couples got out of their cars, carrying in their hands beautifully wrapped gifts of all shapes and sizes. Valets dressed in uniform then promptly drove their car to the back where a huge green field could accommodate all the vehicles.

Elegant women on the arms of rich men entered through the front door and into the marble hallway where they were greeted by household staff and directed to the lounge hall.

Well dressed waiters and waitresses offered fruity drinks and delicious appetizers to the guests.

The party was already in full swing when Sonomi Daidouji pulled up into the driveway in her white sports car. She moved her expensive designer sunglasses off her face and onto her head while sweeping her practical, short hair back. She clicked open the car door and got out, alone.

Unlike the other wealthy guests who insisted on bringing a trophy wife or husband, Sonomi liked being alone. It was less complicated that way and she preferred it. After her lengthy divorce, she had found that she didn't need anyone in her life. Her Prada shoes had barely hit the ground before a handsome valet came up towards her, a grin on his face.

"Ma'am, I can take your car for you if you'll like."

A small amused smile touched Sonomi's red lips. She had her fair share of summer flings with all sorts of men, all who had grandeur delusions of seducing her and marrying her. It all came down to money, and everyone knew Sonomi Daidouji had loads of it. Her multi-million dollar toy company was booming and she had more money on her hands than what she knew to do with. She gave the young and hopeful man a teasing smile and handed him the keys.

His fingers lingered on her palm a little longer than was necessary but Sonomi ignored it. She enjoyed the attention but she was no fool. After her first marriage, she had learned the true value of having a husband: there was none. The young valet may continue to dream but he would be better off not dreaming about Sonomi and her wealth.

Sonomi reached into her car and picked up the gift she had prepared. Closing her car door, she picked her way up the two steps to the front door without a second thought to the valet.

Once inside, a caterer with a tray offered her a glass of champagne which Sonomi took. Her eyes glanced around the luxurious room, full of important and wealthy people. Her eyes caught the CEO of a competitor toy corporation who had been struggling against Sonomi's company for the past five years with little success. He was a large man and once he spotted her, he made a beeline straight towards her.

"Well, well, Sonomi Daidouji," he said with a smile as fake as his personality. "Good to see you!"

Sonomi took a sip out of the flute glass before replying. "Bosho, I see you're still alive and kicking." _Even though your weight alone should have put you down long ago!_ Sonomi bestowed upon the man a gracious smile that revealed none of her thoughts.

But Basho would not be provoked so easily. He dismissed her words as if they were only meant as a friendly joke. "Indeed I am." He made a show of looking around as if searching for someone. "I see that you didn't bring your daughter with you."

It was with an effort that Sonomi kept her smile. "No. My daughter doesn't like crowds. And this party is definitely full of people. It seems the Yamazakis have spared no expense for their son's birthday."

Bosho rocked on his heels, grinning. "Oh dear," he chirped. "Of course they wouldn't. Takashi is their only child, after all. As a mother with only one daughter, I'm sure you'd understand their feelings."

Sonomi frowned slightly, wondering what Bosho was getting at.

Bosho didn't make her wait long as he continued on, "You know, Sonomi, my dear, we haven't seen your daughter in so long that a lot of us are starting to wonder if she ever even existed!" He laughed at his own joke. "Why don't you bring her with you anymore? She was such a pretty and delightful child! I'm sure we'll all love to see her again. What was her name? Momoyo? Tomom?"

"Tomoyo," Sonomi corrected, determined not to let Bosho get to her. She strengthened her will with steel casings and forced a pleasant smile onto her face. "I'm sure there will be a next time."

"Oh, but will there?" Bosho asked rhetorically. "Your girl is a year younger than the Yamazaki's son, isn't she? I'm sure they would love to play with each other… if only you would let her."

"What are you saying?" Sonomi asked.

Bosho shrugged. "Just that you never bring her out."

Sonomi gritted her teeth. When Tomoyo had been born, she had been the happiest woman in the whole world. She had given her daughter everything wealth could afford. It had delighted Sonomi when she saw that her daughter had also been bestowed with good looks. However, soon, to Sonomi's horror, she discovered her daughter had also been given a weak personality. As the years went by and Tomoyo outgrew infancy, that weakness became ever more pronounced.

Sonomi used to bring Tomoyo everywhere with her, showing her off to her wealthy friends and acquaintances. The pride of her life. But each time, Tomoyo had cried herself silly in the crowds. It had embarrassed Sonomi to no end. That was why… after much consideration, she had decided to let her daughter go. Uina had suggested it first as a joke when Sonomi had revealed how unhappy she was with Tomoyo's personality. Then once the idea had been set on the table, Sonomi couldn't get it out of her head. _Give her daughter away_. It would solve all her problems. She had thought about it, and had finally done it.

How did she sleep at night? Well, Sonomi reassured herself that if her daughter managed to survive life, Sonomi would take her back. After all, if she was still alive on her eighteenth birthday, Sonomi would find her and see what kind of woman she had grown up into. If she had become stronger, Sonomi would bring her back into the fold. But for now, her daughter was dead to her.

She turned to Bosho and said in a lower voice, "Why are you so interested in my daughter, Mr. Bosho? I hope you are harbouring good intentions because she is my _only _daughter after all. I would hate it if I were to discover you were a pedophile. A lot of that on the news these days."

Bosho's face went pale at the out-of-the-blue accusation and the venomous tone Sonomi had used. "I-I have a family!"

"According to statistics, most pedophiles are married."

Bosho's face turned from pale white to angry red but he would not give the powerful woman the satisfaction of causing a scene. "You're despicable!" he hissed. Then he leaned back and smiled. "Always a pleasure, Sonomi," he said out loud before walking away.

Once the overbearing man had disappeared back into the crowd, Sonomi finished the flute of champagne and placed it onto a tray of a passing server. She knew Bosho was only the first of her many haters that would seek her out at this party.

And as if right on cue, the CEO of another wealthy toy company approached her. It was going to be a long day for sure.

* * *

Syaoran Li sat on the garden lounge chair, basking in the warm summer sun. Beside him in another white lounge chair, his best friend, Eriol Hiragizawa, was reading a children's book about a duck or something.

"Hey," Eriol called out suddenly to Takashi. "What do you think is going to be the best gift you get this year?"

The birthday boy, Takashi Yamazaki, grinned as he jumped into his large estate's outdoor pool, splashing cool water on his friends. He swam to the other end easily and re-surfaced with a grin. "I don't know," he said. "It doesn't matter though. There's nothing I want anyway."

And it was true. Takashi had everything a boy could dream of. When he had wanted a knight's sword, his father had bought one for him. When he wanted a dog, his mother had gotten him three. When he had wanted a gaming system, his father had renovated an entire section of the mansion to build a gaming room for his son.

Syaoran and Eriol were similarly treated by their parents. Whatever they wanted, they should only ask and their parents would make it materialize.

"Yes, I know," Eriol said exasperated as he pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. "But guess."

"A car," suggested Syaoran. Even though all three boys were only seven years old – Takashi turning seven today – it didn't stop them from wanting things that older boys wanted. "I bet someone is going to give you a car."

Takashi chuckled as he did back flips into the water. "I already got a car last birthday," he said. "Even though I can't drive it yet."

"A gun," Eriol said suddenly. "It'll be a gun."

Syaoran looked over with interest. "Why?"

"Well," Eriol explained innocently. "The grown-ups have to think up something different, don't they? They can't keep giving us the same gifts over and over, can they? They'll give Takashi a gun. With diamonds on it."

Takashi looked doubtfully at Eriol and then at Syaoran.

Syaoran shrugged. "Maybe. I'll tell you what my mom got you though Takashi. It's a $20,000 Rolex watch."

Takashi sighed, unsurprised. "Thanks. I'll just add it to my collection of the hundreds of others I have!"

Eriol grinned knowingly. "I have 301," he said. "From all my birthdays up until now."

"You counted?" Takashi asked.

Eriol shrugged. "My mum did a count after she was convinced the maid was stealing from her."

"And was she?"

Eriol nodded. "Yep. No one steals from my mum without her knowing."

Syaoran snickered, intrigued. Every few years someone would catch a maid stealing something. It was always interesting. "What did the maid say?"

"She said she had a family to support."

Takashi shrugged. "Isn't that what they all say?"

Eriol nodded. "Mum fired her anyway though. The maid cried a lot afterwards, asking for a second chance and saying she needed the wage."

"She shouldn't have stolen then," Syaoran said, already losing interest in this topic as he leaned back down onto his chair, closing his eyes.

His friends agreed with him as they went back to the gift topic.

"Want to know what my parents got you?" Eriol asked Takashi mischievously.

Takashi groaned. "Let's go play hide and seek instead," he suggested. Guessing what gifts he was going to get simply didn't amuse him, unlike other children who clambered to know.

"Guess!" Eriol insisted.

Takashi sulked. "Another watch?"

"No," Eriol said. "A cheque."

"Thanks, Eriol," Takashi said with no enthusiasm. "Great gift."

Syaoran grinned. "How much was it for? If it's more than my mother's gift, she'll be angry."

Eriol shrugged. "It's also $20,000."

Even though the boys didn't understand it at this point, it was very important that rich friends didn't try to outdo each other on gift giving. Prior to the party, all of them had asked others what they were getting so they could plan their gifts accordingly. If your wealthy friend gave a $20,000 gift, you do not turn around and give a $200,000 gift.

Their conversation was interrupted when a maid came out from the house towards the pool holding a tray.

"Hello. Are you hungry?" she asked. "Would you like some sandwiches?"

Takashi swam towards the edge of the pool and reached up for one. The maid kneeled down to make the tray more accessible. Takashi picked one up and inspected it.

"Turkey and cheese?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in childish distaste.

The maid nodded. "Your mother said not to eat too many. There's still a cake to eat later on."

Takashi placed the sandwich back on the tray and shook his head. "I don't want turkey," he said. "I want ham and bacon."

The maid hesitated. She had spent a lot of time making these bite-sized sandwiches for the boys. "How about your friends, Takashi?" she asked hopefully.

Eriol shook his head and Syaoran didn't even turn to acknowledge the maid.

"Ham and bacon," Takashi insisted.

The maid stood up quickly. "Yes, of course," she murmured. "I'll make them right away."

Satisfied, Takashi looked towards his friends. "You guys want anything?"

"Juice," Eriol ordered happily.

"Syaoran?"

The boy yawned and stretched lazily. "I'll have ham and bacon sandwich too and juice."

"Yes," the maid said obediently. She turned back to Takashi. "Would you like to come inside?" she asked. The sun was bright and hot and she wasn't sure if any of the other maids had put sunscreen on the boys.

"No, Milana," Takashi grumbled. "I want to swim."

"But there's also the indoor pool," Milana the maid insisted, gesturing back towards the immense house. "Maybe-"

"No," Takashi repeated, shaking his head. His parents had hosted enough parties that Takashi knew the party guests would crowd the indoor pool sooner or later. He preferred the outdoor one. "I'm hungry, Milana!" he complained.

The maid nodded and hurried away immediately.

Once she had gone, Syaoran got up. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes that his friends knew only too well. "Hey, let's go to the stream in the woods."

Takashi hesitated. "My mom said not to go outside the fences. It isn't safe in the woods."

Syaoran grinned. "It's just the woods, Takashi. Look." He pointed to the distance, out across the field where the fences met the thick and dark woods. "We'll go for only a bit. I heard there's fish in the stream."

But even Eriol did not fully support him. Out of the three, Syaoran was the one who got into the most trouble. He was always getting ideas into his seven year old head and urging his friends into action.

"What if we get lost?" Eriol asked, the more practical one.

"We won't," Syaoran said. He reached into the pocket of his swimming trunks and pulled out a compass. "We'll have this."

Curious, the two boys came closer to see.

"Where did you get that?" Eriol asked, taking a step closer to admire the beautiful and old compass.

"I borrowed it from Bosho." Syaoran grinned in that handsome and playful way of his.

Takashi climbed out of the water. "It is Bosho's compass," he said once he had a closer look. Everyone knew of Bosho's family heirloom. The man liked to show it to whoever would listen and brag how it was a century old.

"He won't know it's missing. I'll give it back to him later. So you guys coming or not?"

Eriol grinned. Syaoran's excitement was infectious. "I'm in," he agreed.

Takashi shrugged. "Me too."

With a plan in mind, the three boys snuck off the Yamazaki family residence and headed into the large family woods.

* * *

"Sonomi!"

Sonomi turned, half afraid it was another of her enemies. It seemed being wealthy gave you much more jealous enemies in disguise than actual friends. When she caught sight of the woman that had called her though, Sonomi relaxed. Now here was a true friend she could count on.

Suzuka Yamazaki went up to Sonomi and gave her a warm embrace. "I'm so glad you could make it, Sonomi," Takashi's mother said, saving her from the boring conversation she was having with a wealthy son of some nobility lord whose titles meant nothing in this day and age. "You'll have to excuse me for stealing her away from you, Duke," Suzuka said graciously and naturally.

"Of course, of course," the Duke murmured and left the two women alone.

"Thank you for that," Sonomi sighed. She was on a fifth glass of champagne. Or was it… six? She had lost count.

Suzuka laughed. She was of a similar age with Sonomi but where Sonomi was elegance and cold, Suzuka was warm and easy to know. "How many glasses have you had?" Suzuka chided. She took her friend by the arm, leading her away from the crowded lounging hall. "Here, let the maid take that." She motioned for one of her many household servers to come over. The girl hurried over and took Sonomi's gift, freeing the woman from having to hold the present. "Take that to the pile," Suzuka said, dismissing the girl and leading her friend further into her house.

Once in they were in one of three private Yamazaki studies, Sonomi sank down gratefully into a plush armchair. "Thanks for saving me," she said as she kicked off her heels. "I don't think I could have survived much longer in there."

Suzuka laughed at her friend's exaggeration. If there was one thing she knew of Sonomi, it was that she was a survivor. "Nonsense," she murmured gently. "You handled them quite well." She approached the shelf containing her husband's expensive liquor and poured half a glass for herself and Sonomi. Handing the drink to her friend, she sat down into a seat across. "Where's Tomoyo?" she asked curiously. "Didn't you bring her?"

Sonomi felt her muscles tense. She hadn't told anyone about what she had done and she didn't plan to, not even to her old and good friend. "No, Tomoyo is at home. She wasn't feeling well."

"Oh dear," Suzuka said, immediately concerned. "Did you get Doctor Neil to take a look?"

Sonomi waved away her friend's concern. "Yes, yes. She'll be fine."

Suzuka sighed and leaned back in her seat. "You should bring Tomoyo around more often, Sonomi. I know Takashi would love having her as a friend."

Sonomi smiled bitterly. "My daughter is not very good at making friends, Suzuka. She cries a lot. And correct me if I'm wrong, last year when I brought Tomoyo to Eriol Hiragizawa's birthday party, he called her a cry baby. And what did my Tomoyo do? She cried."

"Psh!" Suzuka muttered. "Children! Tomoyo was only five! They'll grow out of it."

Sonomi chose not to say anything and shrugged.

Suzuka watched her friend closely. She remembered back to the years when Sonomi had been a new mother and how joyous she had been. But now all Suzuka Yamazaki saw in her friend was a hard disappointment.

"You do have a great daughter, you know that right, Sonomi?" Suzuka said firmly, leaning forward.

Sonomi sighed. "Of course," she lied.

Suzuka smiled. It was clear she had something on her mind. "That's why…" she ventured, becoming timid. "I would love to have your permission on this matter…"

Her attention caught, Sonomi sat up a bit straighter. "What is it?" Suzuka had never asked her for anything and this sounded very much like a request. The first ever during their long friendship.

Suzuka spread her hands in a hopeless shrug. "It's marriage, Sonomi. Between my Takashi and your Tomoyo. I would like it very much."

Sonomi felt her mouth fall open in shock. "_What_?" she asked, standing up. Her bare toes sank into the lush carpet. "You can't be serious!?"

Suzuka reeled back as if she had just been slapped, unsure what to make of this outburst. She had been sure that her friend would have been pleased in the joining of their two families. She stood up. "I don't understand," she said slowly. "You don't like Takashi?"

Sonomi blinked several times until she realized her outburst had offended her friend. "No, of course not, Suzuka. That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?" Suzuka asked in a tone that was neither friendly nor forgiving. It reminded Sonomi that Suzuka Yamazaki was not a woman to trifle with no matter how warm and friendly her countenance may be. The Yamazaki had ties to the fearsome Yakuza back in Japan. Suzuka was actually the daughter of the Yakuza head. She had married Sato Yamazaki and had eloped with him to America. Sato's family had been wealthy and had made their wealth generations ago from a very prestigious publishing company. Even though Suzuka had run away from her father and his Yakuza, she had only reach out and her father would forgive her instantly, granting her whatever she wished.

Sonomi knew she had to tread carefully. Takashi was Suzuka's only son and she loved him more than anything in the world.

"What I meant," Sonomi said slowly. "Is that they're only children. I'm just surprised you would have… th-thought so far."

But Suzuka was not a fool. Still on guard, she asked icily, "Are you sure, Sonomi? These kinds of arrangements happen all the time in rich families like ours. You shouldn't be so surprised."

Sonomi groaned inwardly. She knew the fickle nature of wealthy families. Years and decades of friendship could be forgotten in an instance. She was determined not to let this happen. "Please, Suzuka. We've known each other for years. You know I love Takashi like my own. You _know_ that I would love a marriage like this."

Suzuka glanced uncertainly at her friend. "Then… I don't understand?" She was starting to lower her hackles. "Why the reaction?"

Sonomi spread her hands helplessly. "It's… Tomoyo. I don't think Takashi would like her very much. I mean… think about it. Would Takashi really want a wife that everyone calls a _cry baby_!?"

All hostility melted away from Suzuka's face once she realized the real problem. "Oh, Sonomi," she said kindly. "You can't hold that against your daughter. She's only a child."

"A child! A child that should be _stronger_!"

Suzuka smiled. "Patience, my dear friend. Patience is all you need."

Sonomi stared and then nodded wordlessly. There was no way she could tell her friend now that she had given up on her daughter and sent her away. "You're right," she lied. "Thank you, Suzuka. Tomoyo will be very lucky to have Takashi."

Suzuka beamed at the compliment and raised her glass. "Then let us drink to it," she murmured. "Our two families will become one through our children!"

As Sonomi brought up her glass against her friend's, she could only smile on the outside, thinking, _If Tomoyo is not worthy in a couple of years, I will simply tell Suzuka she died of an illness._

* * *

It was only near the cutting of the cake, well into the evening, that they realized the birthday boy was missing, along with Syaoran Li and Eriol Hiragizawa.

Suzuka went into a panic as she sent maids and staff to turn the great mansion upside down to find her son. Her husband, Sato, stood beside her, barking orders while Sonomi was charged with making sure the rest of the guests were not any the wiser.

Yelan Li, however, was not so easily fooled. When the magnificent cake had been brought out and the guests had prepared to sing the song and clap their hands, and then had been told to wait while the cake was taken away, Yelan knew something was up.

She went to look for Suzuka and Sato Yamazaki immediately.

"Oh Yelan," Suzuka said, close to tears when she spotted her friend. "Takashi is gone!"

Yelan's facial expression did not mirror the worried mother's when she learned that her own son had also disappeared. Yelan simply did not believe in resorting to emotions to solve problems. If one wanted results, they cleared their heads and thought.

And that's exactly what Yelan did.

"Where were they last seen?"

"I-I don't know!" Suzuka said, exasperated. She looked imploringly to her husband but Sato Yamazaki shook his head. He had not seen his son either.

"Your maids then," Yelan said. "Who would be the one that is your son's?"

"Milana," Suzuka said right away. "Takashi's nanny." Automatically, Sato gestured towards a maid and sent her scurrying to retrieve Milana.

Within minutes, Milana was rushing towards her employers, wiping her hand on her apron. She had heard from the other maids what had happened.

"Milana!" Suzuka cried. "Where is Takashi!?"

"I-I…" Milana licked her lips nervously. She was a thirty year old woman who had been employed at the house ever since Takashi had been an infant. "I don't know, ma'am."

Suzuka gave a frustrated cry. "You're his nanny! _How can you not know_!?"

Milana trembled. "No, ma'am. I'm so sorry, ma'am. I-I was making sandwiches for Takashi. He wanted h-ham and bacon…"

Before Suzuka could explode, Yelan stepped in. "Where did you see them last, Milana?"

Milana turned her fearful eyes onto the other wealthy lady. "A-At the pool," she murmured. "They were swimming."

It was at this time that Bosho stormed into the room, oblivious to the high tension happening around him. He went up to Sato and exclaimed, "My compass! It's been stolen!"

Sato held up a hand, frowning. "This is not the time, Mr. Bosho!"

"Whatever do you mean?" Bosho asked shrilly. "Someone has stolen my family heirloom from under my nose, under_ your _roof, and you think this is not the time!?"

Suzuka gave Bosho a glare that could have frozen water. But Yelan stepped in once again, effectively silencing Suzuka's cutting remark.

"Mr. Bosho, your compass was stolen?"

Bosho turned in surprise, seeming to notice Yelan's presence for the first time. "Y-Yelan!" he said turning white as his eyes met hers. "I-I didn't know you were here. D-Didn't see you."

"Your compass," Yelan repeated. "When did you realize it was missing?"

"I-I don't know," Bosho stammered. "L-Look, I'm sorry if I interrupted anything. Don't worry about the compass. It's just an old thing-" He made a hasty retreat. Everyone was frightened of the Li family. They were wealthy, powerful, and was said to even have government officials in their pockets. If they wanted, they could destroy anyone. As a rule, many wealthy patrons avoided Yelan at all costs, who was said to be even more ruthless than her husband. Only some families had managed to become good and fast friends with the Li family. The Yamazakis were one such family, and the Hiragizawa another.

As Bosho made to escape out of the room, Yelan's bodyguards stepped out from the shadows and seized the large, fat man on the arms, dragging him back to Yelan.

Yelan ignored the man's obvious terror of her. She knew she had that effect on some of the weak. She still hadn't decided whether it was silly or something inherently smart.

"Mr. Bosho," Yelan questioned calmly. "Did you speak to my son today?"

Bosho's jowls were now quavering as his small brain tried to figure out if there was some sort of trap involved here. He had heard talk of some wealthy men who had disappeared into thin air after having crossed the Lis.

"Speak!" Suzuka prodded, impatiently.

"Y-Yes!" Bosho exclaimed. "I did! But I didn't do anything. The boy just wanted to see my compass so I showed him it. That's all. I swear."

Yelan gave her bodyguards a nod and they released Bosho from their steel grip.

"Mr. Bosho, thank you for your cooperation," Yelan said. "For future reference, know that my son… is very good at… _taking_ what doesn't belong to him." She turned towards Suzuka and Sato. "If Syaoran has that compass, there is no doubt they went into the woods."

Sato wasted no time in dispatching men and forming search parties. The woods behind the Yamazaki residence spanned acres and acres of land. Young boys could easily be lost in it.

As Yelan turned to leave and join the search, Bosho quickly fell into step beside her. "Y-Yelan," he stammered. "I don't want there to be any misunderstanding. Syaoran… that compass. I g-gave it to him. He didn't steal it or anything."

Yelan stopped in her tracks and turned to face Bosho. A small amused smile played onto her lips for only a second. "Mr. Bosho, you are very understanding of the matter. But…" She leaned forward, her eyes hard and cold despite her smile. "I know my son very well. He took that compass out of your large pocket without you noticing, is that right?"

The look in Yelan's eyes brooked no lying so Bosho nodded quietly.

Yelan reached out and touched the man gently on the shoulder. "That behaviour displeases me very much, Mr. Bosho. I intend to correct it."

_Very good,_ Bosho thought. Stealing was despicable, and he had only said he gave the compass away to save his own hide when the truth was the boy had pick pocketed him. But before he had voiced his approval, Yelan went on to say, "When my son wants something, he should only ask and he shall have it. He doesn't need to _steal_ anything." Her eyes found Bosho's again and he saw the threat behind her eyes. "Next time, _Bosho_, if Syaoran wants your compass, you'll fall over yourself to _give_ it to him."

Bosho's eyes widened. "Y-Yes, of course. I-I understand," he squeaked.

Without another word, Yelan swept past him, her bodyguards following her.

* * *

The boys were lost in the woods, a bit scared and hungry.

"Worst birthday ever," Takashi stated matter-of-factly. "Thanks, Syaoran."

Syaoran grinned despite it all. Branches had scratched his arms and legs, he was starving, and he thought all the mosquito bites had already drained his body of blood.

Eriol whacked a branch out of the way. "I'm never listening to you again, Syaoran."

"It's not my fault," Syaoran said in his own defence. "You tripped me."

Eriol stopped in his tracks. "But _you_ fell on the compass and broke it!"

"But you tripped me."

"But you broke the compass."

"But you tripped me."

"But you broke the compass."

"But you tripped me."

And this went on for some time, back and forth between Syaoran and Eriol until Eriol finally gave up.

They were hopelessly lost, and even if Syaoran hadn't broken the compass, Takashi seriously doubted that any of them even knew how to use one.

"Wait," Takashi said suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Eriol asked, scratching at a mosquito bite with irritation.

"Barking!" Takashi turned in the direction of the sound and started to plunge through the woods with renewed determination. "I think it's Story barking."

Story was a black Labrador retriever, one of the three dogs that Takashi had.

And sure enough, as they stomped on, the barking grew louder until something came crashing through the woods towards them.

Story leapt out and jumped at Takashi, pushing the young boy backwards. Story barked excitedly, and then ran circles around Takashi.

Takashi laughed. "We've been rescued."

"No thanks to Syaoran," Eriol grumbled. He couldn't resist.

Syaoran shrugged and stuffed the broken compass into Eriol's hands. "Bosho will want that back."

Eriol stared down at the old compass. Its glass cover had been cracked and the spinning needle that had once pointed out the directions was now lost somewhere in the woods, having fallen out. The beautiful design and painting on the back had been scratched beyond repair. "I'm _not_ explaining this," Eriol said.

But Syaoran wasn't even listening at all. In fact, the spoiled boy had already located the rest of the search party and was busy telling them the adventure they had.

Once found, they were all taken back to the Yamazaki residence and reunited with their awaiting parents.

Suzuka and Sato Yamazaki embraced their son amidst tears and cooing.

But neither Syaoran nor Eriol were greeted with such spectacle. Eriol's parents were not in the country, preferring to live in England. Eriol lived in a mansion of his own with his grandfather. His grandfather had not attended the party, preferring the tending of vineyards rather than socializing. He had sent Eriol along though, and Eriol's mother had sent the appropriate gift.

Syaoran, on the other hand, greeted his mother almost formally. Yelan did not like shows of affection because she believed it made one appear weak. As such, Syaoran was used to this distant mother-son relationship. In fact, he had grown quite used to it.

"Mother," Syaoran said politely. "I'm back."

"Good," Yelan acknowledged. No hugging involved whatsoever. "Were you hurt?"

"No, mother."

"Very well."

There was no admonishment issued. Yelan believed in giving her son the necessary freedom to grow and do as he pleased. He might not be her only child but he was her only son, and he would be entitled to only the best and anything he ever desired.

Eriol came to stand beside his friend. He opened the palm of his hand to show Yelan the damaged compass.

Yelan dismissed it but Bosho had caught a glimpse of his treasured family heirloom. A gasp and cry went through the man despite himself.

"Oh no, oh no," he cried as he came forward, taking the compass from Eriol as if he was cradling an injured bird. "M-My father's…"

"I'm sorry," Eriol said, having pity on the man as only a child would. They had, after all, broken something Bosho held dear. Eriol nudged Syaoran to make his own apologies and for a moment the brown haired boy looked a bit guilty at what he had done. But then the young seven year old looked up towards his authoritative mother for guidance. Should he admit his error?

Yelan's face gave nothing away as she said, "Eriol, you don't have to apologize. Bosho has agreed to give the compass to Syaoran, haven't you Bosho?"

Bosho gave one last heartbreaking look at his treasure and let his head jerk into an unwilling nod. "Y-Yes," he squeaked. "What is mine is yours, Syaoran."

Syaoran did not really understand any of the unspoken messages as he grinned boyishly. "Thanks, Bosho." Turning to his friend, he said, "See Eriol? The compass is mine." He grabbed it and then tossed it into a nearby trash can that was already littered with cups and napkins from the guests. "It's old and broken. We don't need it anymore. Let's go look for Takashi."

Obliviously, the young boy turned his back on them and headed away. Eriol hesitated a second, his conscience wavering between confusion and knowing what was right. The confusion won out and he followed after Syaoran without looking back.

Once they were alone, Yelan allowed Bosho a smile. "Well done, Mr. Bosho." Despite everything Yelan was said to be, she was still a mother, and she would protect her son from the realities of the world.

Bosho turned to the powerful woman, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "That was my family heirloom, Yelan," he whimpered. "It has been in my family for generations."

"And which you gave to my son," Yelan confirmed coldly, her eyes surveying the flustered man.

Bosho shook his head and a tear escaped his eye. He hastily brushed it away and looked at Yelan with a ferocity that surprised her. "That is not the way to raise your child, Yelan. He'll grow up to be a monster."

Yelan felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. No one told her how to raise her children. "How I raise Syaoran is none of your business, Bosho," she said icily.

Bosho's momentary courage finally failed him. He lowered his head and averted his eyes. "Yes, of-of course," he whispered docilely. "P-Please excuse me." He gave his broken compass one last glance and hurried away. Maybe if he was brave enough he would come back later and dig through the trash to find it.

* * *

Author's Note: Who knew that writing a six/seven year olds would be so complicated? Believe it or not, I had to research out what they were like.

Also, very IMPORTANTLY, please note that none of the characters are related by blood in this story. That means that Tomoyo Daidouji is NOT Sakura's cousin. Touya is an Avalon and NOT Sakura's older brother. I just want to clarify it here so readers won't think there's some huge conspiracy/twist later on (i.e. finding that Touya was her long last brother). It will not happen. Despite this difference, his essential role will not change. He will always act like an older brother towards Sakura and there will be zero romance between them.

The reason I have done this is because the core characters for CCS is very limited and I don't want to invent up characters every step of the way that will make the story unnecessarily complicated. Sakura being the only child in this AU will serve the overall plot better. Thanks for understanding.

Also, I know a lot of readers might have some words about Syaoran's obvious selfishness at this point but please remember at this point he is only 7 years old and really doesn't know any better. His childhood will shape who is to grow up to be later on.

And that's it for chapter one. R&R your thoughts.


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